


Marry me, please.

by korinachan



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fun, Girl Saves Boy, Heartbreak, Other, Romance, Teen Romance, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-10-29 01:11:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 143,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10843389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/korinachan/pseuds/korinachan
Summary: Star needs to choose a fiance to rule beside her in the future. Marco doesn't know how to deal with the situation (And is about to figure out something at the worst possible time). Janna may find her other half, and Heckapoo in there because the second season.





	1. The bad news.

Chapter 1.

Star was l on her bed on a Saturday evening, teary eyed and sad about her new found situation.

She really could not understand or even accept the responsibility she has been trusted with. Well maybe that was a bit of an overstatement, she wasn't trusted into the situation, she was just thrown into it, with out any other option for her but to accept it.

1 hour ago.

*Call from Mom*

¨Accept¨, said Star with a surprised tone in her voice, her mom never called her, maybe to scold at her or to see how her training was going, something she was growing more and more a costume to lie about, but not anymore now that Glossarick was missing.

On the magic mirror, Star saw her parents but something was not right, they were worried, not the usually worried state when they question if she had been behaving good, is like, if their eyes could say something, it was probably, we are sorry.

Queen Moon took a deep breath before saying. ¨Star¨, Moon spoke the sorrow on her voice, which quickly took a more stern tone ¨We need to talk about seriously about your future, it cannot wait, you need to come here to the castle. RIGHT. NOW!¨

The call ended.

It was really different, Star was used to her parents being angry at her, even disappointed but this was different, is like they were worried about her, not for her actions, but genuinely worried about her well being, it gave her cold feet, to be honest and she missed no time on opening a new portal to the castle.

At the main hall, she saw her parents with those worried looks that so unnerved her.

¨Star¨ Her father was the first one to talk. ¨You know we love you, with all of our lives, hearts, muscles and magic wands, right?¨

¨Yes?¨ Star answered, the doubt about the why of this whole meeting still in her mind.

¨So you know that we would never force you to do something that...¨ He was interrupted by the Queen herself.

¨Star you have to choose a fiance¨ Her mother wasn't joking, she could tell, this was one hundred percent serious business.

¨What?!!¨ she said, totally lost to the situation.

¨Come on Moon you could have sold that to her on a better pacing¨ King River said, trying to held Star up and prevent her from falling.

¨I know, but this is not the time to drag the situation. Star, you must choose a husband to rule beside you¨ Her words echo in her mind, even to this day.

¨Bu-but Mom, I am just fourteen I cannot choose someone that important¨ she said with all the fear on her heart, mimicking on her words. ¨Besides¨ She quickly meant to turn around ¨Do you really trust me, your teenage troublemaker daughter into choosing her husband by herself ¨ Star said calmy thinking she gained the upper hand.

¨Off course, not¨ Both said in unison, giving a smile to the princess' face but only for a moment.

¨But, that does not mean we cannot intervine¨ Star grew worried about the next sentence.

¨You see WE cannot tell you who to choose, but we can, in fact, limit your decisions on the guys that you choose from, old tradition you see, the next King of Mewni can only be chosen from those that are worthy¨

Those words sank on her mind, like a thousand narwhals sinking to the deeps.

´´So we prepared a list of...´´ Almost as she could not finish that sentence ¨Mhm hmm, A list of suitable bachelors for you to think about¨ Handing that mentioned list to Star may have been the hardest thing about her motherhood, but she knew it was the right decision.

Star looking at the first page of the list, noticing that no one, literally not one of those names rang any bells ¨C´om you really can´t expect me to choose from any one of these guys, I literally don´t know a single one of these names.¨

¨Star¨ King River comforted the almost crying princess, ¨ We know that ALL of this situation is very sudden but let me explain¨ the King said and after a clearing his throat, ¨Remember how you lost Glossarick AND the book? We are as much worried about all of this as you, and that is why we want you to have some at your side, that can look after you.¨

Star walked back a few steps ¨That is a bunch of nonsense!!!¨ The royals were not ready for that kind of outburst, well maybe a little.

¨Even if I lost Glossarick I have Marco and the Diaz's, you trust them for my care. Marco has been better than any other nanny you have ever leave me with, he understands me, and is my best friend even in the short time that I have been on Earth, be honest you just wish that I had been sent o St ...¨

¨DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTENCE STAR!!!!¨ Moon screamed before Star could finish her words. It was clear that Star was scared by her voice like she was brought down to a child once more.

¨IF WE ARE DOING THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN SELFBEING AND SECURITY¨ She was stopped on her outburst by the same King River, just a hug from behind and a look in the eyes and she was able to understand that she had gotten out of hand.

After a calming inhale and a few seconds of breathing.

¨Ok Star, we will explain all of this for you.¨

King River started with a little story ¨You see your mother was able to marry with me under the same rules, I was one of the chosen ones that met all of the requirements for me to marry princess Moon, but it was not out of luck or cirscunstances¨

¨Indeed my King¨ Queen Moon smiled as she hugged her husband form behind as she continued with the explanation. ¨You see I never thought about marrying, I was always thinking that I was always enough by my lonesome, ruling on my own and fighting monsters by myself¨ A smile formed on Queen Moon face.

¨But then, your father came and help me understand...¨

¨WHAT?! You understood what, how did you getting a husband change your life so hard I really cannot grasp that idea¨ The princess' interrupted.

¨And that is what we want you to get some perspective. Star, you keep getting into trouble, not only do you have friends like Princess Pony Head and you keep missing your studies, even before losing Glossarick, but you are so unpredictable that we simple cannot afford to let you go on your own like this.¨

Her voice change from stern to motherly, and warm. ¨I know from the bottom of my heart that this is the best thing that we can do for you.¨

Before Star could form a response to that comment, King River quickly interrupt

¨Star we will round up the bachelor's, you will get to know each and every one of them on the form of a waltz. That waltz will happen next month, 4 more weeks to be exact, were you will choose the next King of Mewni at the end of the event.¨ His voice almost crackle at the burden he just put on her daughter.

¨Just remember, we know this is best for you, and we are thrusting you on choosing the best option for you and the kingdom, You may go now all of the preparations will fall on us, we will tell you the up and up.¨

Star could not say anything, for her it was just a huge betrayal on her parents, to be married by responsibility and not love, she was at such a huge lost, she wanted to lay up to them, to scream and destroy everything at her heart content but at the end the only thing that she could say was...

¨Thanks you for your trust, I will not dissapoint¨ And with that, she just opened another portal with her scissors and out she went.

¨Star wait...¨ Queen Moon said, in vain as the portal closed. ¨River, I think we may put too much pressure on her, what if she hates us for doing this to her, OH MY!!! what if she chooses the worst option just to spite us???

¨I know our daughter Moon¨ The King reassured ¨She knows what must happen, and I can assure you that she will choose correctly, I mean, WE could have explained a little better but I am sure she got the meaning of our talk¨ River said with a troubled smile.

¨I hope so¨ Moon said hugging River. ¨I truly hoped so, I could never stand our own daughter hating us for this¨ she said with tears in her eyes.

¨Shh shh¨ He said. ¨Everything will be fine, just... believe in her¨ Both of them share a look in the eyes and kiss, a tender kiss not too long but to reassure their own confidence on their decision, from here on it was all on Princess Star Butterfly shoulders.

And to be honest, that did not look very good.

Star Butterfly was crying, not the over the emotional type of crying, but the depressed kind, the one you can only stay in one place and let the tears flow, without a matter in the world, until...

¨Hey Star, whats up¨ She heard entering her room at the Diaz household. ¨It´s already 1:00 pm and you haven't shot any kind of blast or destroy the kitchen with your wand¨ A confused yet worried voice coming from her best friend entering her room said.

¨I mean, we totally appreciate the quiet but is so unlike you¨ he said still approaching the young princess.

¨Hey Star are you ok¨ He waved his hand in front of her eyes, by that moment he had already noticed the tear trails on her face.

¨Star, are you ok, what happen?¨ Marco said, worried, it was unnatural seeing the princess of Mewni so down, it almost makes him teary eyed as they locked eyesight, almost.

¨Hey Star cmon what happen is not like you to be like this.¨ He sat down beside her.

¨Marco, look¨ She handed him the list her mother gave him.

Taking the piece of paper into his own hands, he took a minute to inspect it. ¨Yeah I see a lot of names, but I don´t know em or even recognize them. What's the meaning of this?¨

She started crying, real tears of sorrow and desperation, like it has finally dawned on her the hole sadness that she has received from the whole situation, at that moment she could not help it but hug Marco.

¨Marco¨ She said between sobs.

¨Yes Star I am here, what happen? What got you so upset?¨ He hugged her back, trying to comfort her.

¨My parents. They want me to marry one of these guys like really choose a husband and ruin my entire life.¨

Marco could only feel his heart sink unto his stomach, he was always ready to say something to defuse a situation, but this, his best friend was in a situation he could do nothing about or even understand. Sadness, frustration and helplessness, it surely cemented that, even thought this is his best friend, he really cannot do anything about her parents' decision.

Star began to sob, with her hands covering her face as to not being seen by anyone.

So Marco did what most people would do in this situation, lie through his teeth and some more to really pacify his friend in need.

¨STAR!!!¨ That scream really puts the attention he needed form Star on him. ¨I will never let them do anything like this to you, we are besties right?¨

She could only nod, still with tears in her eyes.

¨Yes, you see, you have me I will never let you suffer from eternal contempt with some guy you just met, I promise you.¨

Yes, he was lying, she knew he could not keep that promise but she didn't care, Marco looked soo cool making his promise to defend her that it did not matter, for a second there were only these two, a princess and his loyal knight.

¨Marco!!!!¨ Star hugged him like it was the last time she could, sobbing and crying.

The two of them, so entranced with that hug that none of them notice Miss Diaz picking up Star's laundry.

¨Aw you look so cute, I wish I had the painting utensils with me¨

Surprised, Marco almost screamed. ¨Mom you are ruining our moment!!!¨ Marco stopped himself from screaming at the top of his lungs both scared and embarrassed, almost.

¨Sorry, sorry but I really need to do this last batch before dinner Marco, anyway, do not do anything stupid, a dead son is no good to us, and remember¨ She approach the teenagers and with a tender motherly voice said, ¨We support you on everything you want to do, and you Star, you are family for us already so you also have our support.¨

¨Just go now.¨ Marco said red-faced and so embarrassed that he had to put his hood on. ¨And you know, thanks.¨ Ms. Diaz threw a smile at him.

¨Thanks Ms. Diaz, it means a lot to me that you feel this way¨ Star said looking at Angie right in the eyes, which also won her a smile from her.

As Angie walk out of the room Marco turned to Star.

¨So, when you have to chose this new King?¨

¨It is going to be a waltz, next month, but I don't have all the details yet, I am sure my parents are still planning the details.¨

¨Star, no matter what happens I will be there for you, wanna go through this? I will be there, you want to confront your parents? I will be there, just please tell me what you want to do.¨

¨Thank you Marco I appreciated, but just let me think about it. Still, I can´t think of someone better to have at my side other than the safe-kid.¨ That last comment putting a smile on Star face.

¨What???¨ Marco almost yell. ¨I give you all this kindness and you go around reminding me of that stupid nickname.¨ Marco thinking how nice it is to see Star smiling even on between tears.

¨But do you really are ok with following this charade? Is a bunch of nonsense, and you know it.¨

¨I know but...¨ Star could not help but hear the resonance of her parent's words play on her head. ¨I really cannot go against this Marco, I have already caused too many problems, and...¨ She felt a knot on her stomach. ¨I really think I must listen to my parents on this, I do not want them to end up hatting me.¨

Taking the safe side, even if he didn't want to, he agrees with her. ¨Very well Star, I told you I will support you on everything and that's what I am going to do, just remember, I'm here for anything.¨ Still, Marco couldn't accept what his friend had to go through but is not like he has any idea on what to do.

With that last note they hug, a hug that seemed to last forever even after breaking it, after that they just hold hands and lay on Star's bed looking and the ceiling, each one of them incases on their own thoughts, just enjoying the quiet moment.

For both of them, this moment was so weird, only them just laying without talking, moving or joking around. But for her it is enough like she could stay here forever, she really was marveled at how close the two of them had come for them to feel so comfortable just like this. Marco also was at peace, which for him it was so out of nature, his best friend just told him some big news and he is not freaking out he is just there for his friend and even if it doesn't feel like much is just good enough for the both of them.

They stay like that till Mr. Diaz called for dinner, and for the rest of the day, both teenagers kept to themselves.

From today it was only 28 days till the Bachelor Waltz.


	2. Planning.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uplifting Star's mood might be easier than expected, but she must want to feel better.

Some days later after Star got the news of her princess duties, she didn´t felt any better, and it was pretty obvious to anyone with eyes, sitting at class looking depressed, not bored like her usual self (and like everybody else on Ms. Skullnick class), just looking at her desk not making a sound, even Marco left his usual place in front of the classroom to be next to his bestie.

At lunch time, Star ate real school food, not her sugary favorites and/or creations, not even Janna usual trickery could cheer her up, or Starfan13 weird, and extremely well-done fanart, hell even the usually cool Jackie found her own upbeat attitude being brought down by Star mood.

It got to the point were her friends corner Marco on the hallway.

¨Ok Marco, what did you do to Star?¨ Janna said sternly to the boy in the red hoodie.

¨Janna please, sorry Marco is just that Stars been so down lately that is kind of hurtful to watch, really what happen?¨ Jackie said to a confused Marco.

¨But if you broke my sweet Star´s heart o so help me not even your ka-ra-teee will save you from...¨

¨Ok Starfan you can cut it out, you are creeping me out. I can tell you three I did nothing to Star but I really don´t think I should be the one to tell you what happened, is very personal for her.¨ Marco could only barely contain the sadness in his voice.

¨But, maybe...¨ Marco thought, could they be able to help Star on a way he could not?

¨I mean you three are her best friends on school just let me talk with Star and see if she is feeling right to talk to you about her problem I really think that she talking to you will help her.¨

The idea made sense for Jackie, talking about one's problems is the first step to resolving it. ¨Well yeah we can wait, and if you think it will help her I said let´s give it a try, what do you have in mind?¨ 

Well, he was drawing a blank there, when was the last time they all got together and were sincere with each other? ¨Another sleepover, but less magical artifacts more ice cream eating and girls talking about feelings like you know, a normal sleepover, but I have to sell the idea to Star.¨

¨Uff, another sleepover, I really not like the sound of that¨ Said Janna, almost immediately receiving a death glare from Jackie and Marco, as a cold feeling sweep on her back. ¨Ok, ok just nothing weird this time.¨

¨Starfan what about you?¨ Marco needed to know that all the girls were down with the plan.

¨Hey I will take every chance to be with Star and inside of Star´s room, helping her with that depression of hers is a bonus, don't worry.¨

Marco just accepted her response and then directed himself towards all the girls. ¨Ok it's settled, clear your Saturday. I just have to talk with her.¨

Still, with doubts in her mind, Jackie spoke up. ¨You think she will accept?¨

¨If she doesn´t I will eat your skateboard, Jackie, just leave it to me.¨ After that sentence, the bell rang, and they all walk to their classroom.

¨Ok Marco but if this doesn't work I will steal more than your keys, every day, till you graduate¨ Said the beanie wearing girl. 

¨And I will be sure you die in every single one of my fanfics¨ Said the glass wearing girl with eyes of fury.

While whispering, he answered. ¨Wierd and annoying but I suppose I´ll just take it.¨

Marco didn´t really care about the threats, he had a sleepover to prepare, first thing, the guest of honor.

On the way home, Marco already had the perfect words, he just hoped they'll work. ¨So Star you see, the girls have this great idea of making another sleepover this Saturday, you can even invite Pony Head, just tell her not to bring any magical games it will just be a girls night.¨ Not getting a reaction from the girl, he added. "You know, I really think it will be good for you."

¨I don´t know Marco, I mean is nice to know that the girls still want to visit after last time but...¨ Star said in between coming up with excuses to miss that get-together.

¨You see, I don´t really think is the best idea, I have been feeling pretty down lately¨ You don´t say, Marco could only think of that last comment. he could only feel empathy towards his friend. ¨I don´t have that party spirit right now, besides is going to be a girl night and I will feel awful if you felt left out.¨

As the teenagers arrive at the front door.

Marco stopped Star from opening the front door ¨Ok Star, I have to be honest with you.¨ He signaled the girl to sit beside him in front of the door.

¨You see, I...¨ He decided he needed a long breath for this ¨I have heard you the last nights, and I know you've been crying before going to bed.¨ 

This revelation took Star out of balance, but still, she managed to keep her cool as she tried to calm her friend. ¨Oh Marco pfft... I don´t know what are you talking about, do you know how creepy you sounded there?¨ Looking away from Marco, Star began to get up.

Just on that moment Marco stopped her and sat her back down ¨I´m serious Star, it wasn´t my intention to hear you. I needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and I heard you sobbing, after that, every time I woke up at night I checked on you and it was always the same.¨ Star could not see her best friend in the eye, but she just wasn´t expecting what came next ¨It broke me apart every night.¨

After that last comment the two interlock eyes ¨Ok, now I sound like a creep, let me rephrase that.¨ Another session of deep breathing from Marco. ¨I know I told you that you can count on me, it´s just that I feel a night with the girls and you talking to them will help you...¨ Now it was Marco that looked away ¨At least help you more than I have done so far, or ever could.¨

It was true, that the news she had received from her family were huge, and she hadn't been able to find a way to deal with them. Every night since that day, she could only cry herself to sleep, just thinking about her set future, feeling hopeless.

Star lost no time to hugging her bestie ¨Marco, if you think this will help me right know then, you can tell the girls to come whenever they want.¨ She didn't know why she agreed, she didn't felt in high spirits yet. More like, Marco's words inspire her to give it a try.

Marco hugged her back for a few seconds and then broke apart ¨Cool then, they will be here this Saturday at seven and don´t worry you can invite Pony Head and I will be preparing everything you may need.¨

The two teenagers stood back up, and as they enter home one of them was fast to say ¨Oh, yeah, but tell Pony Head that no magical artifacts this time, the girls haven´t recovered from last time yet.¨

¨Oh no!¨ Said a voice from outside on the walkway of the Diaz´s residence. ¨You two moved, I wanted to capture that hug.¨ Said, Mr. Diaz while holding a pencil and a drawing notebook.

¨Dad!? why are you there, how are you two so sneaky?¨

Ms. Diaz answered while holding up two pizza boxes¨Oh Marco, we just went for pizza and happened to find you two like that, you cannot expect us to pass on that opportunity¨ As her son embarrassment grew. ¨Besides natural pictures are always better than the scripted ones.¨ Marco could barely contain the need to die from embarrassment.

As to try to move attention somewhere else Star spoke up ¨So what are we celebrating, I mean you went for pizzas and all¨ 

Mr. Diaz answered, already entering the house with the rest of the family ¨Well we know today is your friendship Thursday and we wanted you to have something different that nachos, you know to keep the variety.¨

¨Thank you Dad, but I really don´t know if it´s going to happen today.¨ 

After hearing that Star interrupted ¨Why not Marco? Are you not feeling good for it.¨ 

This took Marco by surprise ¨Oh, no I just thought...¨ 

He couldn´t finish his sentence ¨Because I would feel really bad if we didn´t finish...¨ *inhale* ¨The trilogy of Thousand Fist of Fury!!!¨ Star finished running to the living room to prepare the movie.

Marco couldn´t help himself but smile at the energy that his friend show, it felt like he really was helping her forget her situation, even if it was for two hours plus special commentary from the director, oh and a night with her best friends of course.

*A few hours later.*

¨So Marco, I got all that about honor and stuff but, tell me again what was that weird... thing, that old guy did back there?¨ She question as both of them were walking up the stairs.

¨Oh, that was a kind of joke style, it´s supposed to imitate the stumbling of a drunk person, but you know in real life you don´t need to be drunk to used it.¨ Marco answered as the two of them reached the second floor.

¨Yeah that, I just looked soooooo cool, you should learn it¨ Said between chuckles ¨It will totally wreck your safe kid persona, I can see it right now, your bottle of beer on one hand and punching a fool with the other, hyaaaaaah!!!!¨ This a company with a swift kick that Marco had to dodge.

¨Heya, careful there, and no Star. I could never find a master for that style, I actually take martial arts seriously, besides alcohol doesn't mix well with me, and I'll be scared to see you under the influence.¨ Marco swiftly looked at Star, like he just caught her in the middle of a weird idea. ¨And no, you shouldn´t learn that too, it would just look, wrong.¨ Star looked as if he just deflated her dreams.

¨Aw c´mon, learning a martial art may give that... thiiiing that is missing from my training.¨

¨Maybe, but I can always teach you karate.¨

¨Boring, I mean sorry, it´s just... you know... not the same, or more like it´s just too the same.¨

Raising an eyebrow Marco question ¨What do you mean?¨

¨Well, you know karate is your thing, that´s what you are good at and better than anything. So with karate being your thing, I should find my own style that is suited for me.¨

That sentence rang too many bells, from too many movies. ¨Whoa, that was actually really well thought but you know, you have your magic wand maybe that is your style, as that old master used to say, Find yourself and get to know you.¨

¨Yeah maybe, mmmmmm...¨ Star looked immerse on her thought at that moment. ¨Yeah Marco, I think you are giving me a new idea for a spell.¨

¨Really, you really think I should be giving you ideas for that sort of thing, you are the magic expert here.¨

¨Yeah but, magic is more art than science in some ways, anyway it´s late Imma prepare me for some sweet dreams.¨

¨Yes it´s almost, eight?!¨ Marco began to panic ¨We haven´t even begun homework!!!¨

¨Pfft, relax it´s just mmmm... I have no idea.¨

¨A science project and two essays, for like next week!¨

¨Then we can do it tomorrow, or Sunday, anytime after the sleepover. Relax Marco.¨ Star said without realizing she had just grabbed Marco´s hand trying to calm him down.

¨Yeah, you are...¨ He really didn´t believe he was saying this ¨...right.¨ The hell??? ¨Besides I have a sleepover to plan for you and the gals.¨

¨Are you sure you are not going to feel left out?¨

¨Yeah, yeah. Oh don´t forget to invite Pony Head, and you know... Prepare what you are going to say to them about the whole thing.¨

Star smile began to crumble as Marco remind her of the whole point of them wanting to talk. ¨Sure, in fact, if I go now I can catch Pony Head on her evening exercises.¨ And, as she walked to her room door ¨Goodnight Marco, and thanks, for everything.¨

¨´Night Star, don´t worry I am here for you.¨ And with that last goodbye Star´s door closed and he began to make way to his room.

¨Call, Pony Head¨ And the mirror began to connect the call.

¨yO, HELLO GIRL!!!¨ An image on the other side of the mirror began speaking.

¨Hello Pony Head, how is my best friend from across dimensions doing?¨

¨100% good and chill, what about you princeeeeeeess.¨

¨Excellent you know that, hey Pony Head, I´m going to have a sleepover here in my room this Saturday, again. Yes, I know you probably have like a thousand things to party so...¨ She couldn´t finish as her friend said.

¨Another sleepover? hELL YEAH, I AM IN!!! I need to prepare some new games for that.¨ As soon as she heard, I´m in, Star began to panic.

¨No, no, no new games of magic artifacts please, my others friends will be here and I promise Marco nothing more like that, besides...¨

¨But GIIIIIIRL, a night without something threatening your life is no fun night.¨ She began to cry out.

¨PONY HEAD, mmmm... I have something serious to say to all of you that night so please just keep it normal¨ Her stern look price Pony Head eyes and made her regain sense.

¨Ok girl, if it´s means that much to you nothing scary supernaturally like that, and you are going to have my total attention for that night, promise.¨

¨Aw thanks, Pony Head, having your whole attention on something means a lot to me.¨

¨Yeah you know I would do anything for you, now I have to leave you because is to me to hop on the treadmill, ´night B-fly.¨ And the call disconnected.

Princess Pony Head turn on the treadmill and prepare her snacks, but something was making her feel odd. ¨Wait, Star seemed like her own and sounded like her own. But something was different, she looked like she was tired and sad.¨ 

She began drinking from her big-size cup ¨Eh, I´m sure it was nothing and that she would tell me what happen, unless???¨ 

Pony Head began thinking about what could cause her bestie to go blue all of the sudden on Earth and she could only think on the earth-turd. ¨Nah, like he had the guts to hurt MY bestie.¨ so she kept on with her exercises deciding to wait for Saturday.

On the other side of the mirror, Princess Butterfly fell on her knees as soon as the called ended, she was tired and the only thing she wanted to do was rest, she was just focused on that, she changed to her nightgown clean herself on the bathroom, brush her teeth's and went to bed before ten pm. What was most amazing is that she felt asleep as soon as she hit the pillow, like she had nothing to worry about that night.

Marco woke up in the middle of the night, again, but this one was more on purpose than the other ones, he even made sure to drink several glasses of water before bed to be sure he was awoken and inside the bathroom at a somewhat specific hour. 

Did he do it just to have a reason to check on her friend at night? Of course, but so far it was the only thing he was able to do. Damn, that sounds creepy, was the only way he could react to his actions.

He was up and on his way to the bathroom at somewhere past 2:00 am, he made his business but before going back to bed, he made sure to put his ear on the door leading to Star's room. 

Every time he did this on the last few days he heard the same sobbing that broke his heart. 

This time, however, he heard nothing. Well, he heard snoring, very loud and unladylike snoring, it was a surprise but, it was a good change from the recently usual tear fest he heard.

¨Star¨ He said with small tears of his own forming in his eyes. Maybe he couldn´t do much, but he was able to give his friend a full night of sleep, and after that kind of dreadful news, that was a small victory that he could claim on his own. Afterward, he made his way back to bed to sleep like a baby.

The next morning at school.

Star was hugged on the back by her biggest fan ¨Staaaaar¨ And she turned around and hugged back her crazy fan ¨Starfaaaaaaaaaaaan¨ this came to a surprise she look at her idol and it was like she was her usual self.

¨Wow Star you look soo good today.¨ Janna said approaching the two girls hugging.

¨Well, of course, you gals idea for Saturday was so good, I can barely contain the excitement.¨

Janna just have to be sure about this ¨So that means we can have a totally normal girly sleepover?¨

¨Sure, you have my word, it´s going to be fun we will stay up all night telling weird scary stories, eating ice cream, talk about our own insecurities, and on the morning, Marco will us make tamales.¨

The three girls just let out a huge laugh while they walk to class, looking at them was Jackie and Marco smiling.

¨So, you were able to convince her, and lift up her mood, good work Diaz.¨ She said elbowing him on the side ¨I just can´t think what is so important that she has to go through all of this to tell us, and all of us at the same time.¨

Rubbing his just elbowed side ¨No Jackie, I will not tell you it will not be right for me to say it, you can hear it from Star tomorrow evening.¨ He reiterate, sternly 

¨C´mon Marco, it is clearly affecting you too, and it could prepare us for what's to come.¨ Jackie tried to push for more information but to no avail.

¨Prepare for tears, besides I will be just one bathroom away, something big happens just call me, are we clear?¨ Marco finish with an iron will.

¨Ok Marco, but I´m just saying if it's this big some warning could help her, not us, her.¨ 

And she walked away, leaving Marco to his own thoughts, for a few seconds then she came back to him with a puzzled look. ¨Yeah by the way, what is a tamale?¨

¨It´s a bunch of corn dough, steamed, and filled with meat, think like a Mexican dumpling just with more fat and rolled up on a corn leaf.¨ Jackie just gives him a more confused look.

¨Yes I know is the kind of thing you need to eat to understand.¨ Marco reassured her, and with that last note, she skateboarded out, this time leaving the boy alone for good.

¨That remind me I have no plans for the weekend, guess I´m going to stand watch at Star's sleepover, I just wish I had a friend over.¨

After a full normal day and another fully rested night. The next day just half an hour before the first guest began to arrive for the sleepover.

¨Ok Star, you have the snacks, the drinks, and the pizzas are here already, I change my computer to your room so that you can watch any movie you want, and the ice cream is in the fridge.¨ He needed a minute to recover his breath 

¨I will be either in my room or in the kitchen watching the tamales, any errand you need you can call me.¨ Giving a smile and two thumbs up to the princess.

¨Marcooooooooo, you seem to worry, you are making me feel bad making you do all the work.¨

¨I just want to give you a perfect night you just promise me to talk about what is happening, please.¨

¨Yes, yes, your are worrying too much.¨

¨Ok then, your only task is to be ready for the guest so get to it.¨

¨Ha, ha, ok that is easy enough.¨

The three guest arrive in front of the Diaz household, all with their own backpack full of their clothes and the different thing they needed for their plans to cheer up Star if needed be.

Jackie was the first one to talk as they get out of the car¨Thanks for picking us all Ms, and for leaving us here, really appreciated.¨

Janna was the second to respond ¨Yeah thanks, mom see you tomorrow.¨

¨Thanks for the ride.¨ Starfan said with a cheerful attitude.

As Janna´s mother left Jackie question her friend about something that had been bothering her¨So Janna, what do you have in your backpack, I mean it sounded like glass and you are holding it really tight to your chest.¨

¨Oh you know... tequila.¨ She smiled but mentally prepared for what was coming her way.

¨What?!¨ Yeah there it was but she couldn´t lie to her friends, and her mother was long gone so whatever.

¨OK you two have your things to make Star happy this is mine, and looking at how she has been at school maybe this will help her more that, what some silly makeup and a stupid romantic movie.¨

¨Hey?¨ Starfan felt really insulted by her remark ¨It's silly makeup and fanart, they always cheer me up¨

¨Janna, you are going to hide that the first chance you get, if it as serious as it seems alcohol is only going to make it worse.¨

¨But Jackieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.¨ Janna whined ¨Do you know the trouble I had to go through to get this thing?¨ Janna tried but could only meet the look of disapproval from the both girls.¨Ugh ok, I will hide it in the bathroom or whatever.¨

¨Remember Janna, and you too Starfan, we are here for Star.¨

¨I haven´t done anything yet¨ The crazy fan almost scream.

¨Just a reminder¨ She said as she knocked the door.

Almost instantly. ¨GIRLS YOUR ARE ALL HERE!!!¨ Star said as she hugged all of them.

¨Hey good thing you all could come.¨ Marco said from the kitchen.

¨Hey Star, and hello Marco¨ Jackie said keeping her cool.

¨Star you are crushing me.¨ Janna said making Star break the hug.

¨Aw I still could have gone for a few more seconds¨ Starfan felt down from being separated from Star.

¨Ok girls, let's wait in my room for the final guest.¨

¨See you later Marco.¨ Star and company said as a goodbye for Marco.

On Star´s room the girls were already prepared for the night, and Janna already hid the bottle of tequila in the bathroom, they were laying on the last preparations when a portal opened on the middle of the room, and out a Princess Pony Head came out.

¨YO GIIIIIIRL!!!!¨

¨Pony Head, you really came.¨ Said Star as the two hug, more like, Star hugged her seeing Pony Head lack of arms. ¨Ok now we can start the fun, I was thinking movie and pizza first, what do you say?¨

¨But B-fly, I thought you have something to hmfhmf¨ Princess Pony Head was stopped by Starfan while Jackie said ¨Yeah something simple it could work, really after last time anything normal is welcome.¨ The rest of the human girls agree.

¨Super, I have a movie that I wanted to watch but I don't know, how do you all feel about old kung fu movies?¨

Janna tried to keep a cool head but she was trying to hide all her excitement. ¨Really Star, we are cool with everything you want to see.¨

¨Oh, really? Because for what I know it is going to be awesomely funny.¨

¨Yeah girl, normal movie on a normal night, this is what I sing on, apparently.¨ The flying princess was already opening the pizza boxes, before settling on normal pepperoni.

¨Star you know I´m cool with everything you want.¨ Janna was getting comfortable on the bed and grabbing a box for herself.

¨Yeah Star, and I think is kind of cute how Marco gave you that taste for kung-fu movies, yeah put it on!¨ The last girl, Starfan, said. 

After that, they were delighted by almost two hours of Mackie Hand's oldest movie, 'Hand of Justice' the first movie Star saw on Earth. Even Pony Head was delighted at the number of ninjas being thrown on the screen.

But, even Star herself knew that couldn't last, she knew they were there for something else entirely. So after the movie and the commentary afterward she felt ready to tell them the truth.

That's when her mirror began to ring, a call from her mother.

¨Everybody to my bed hide yourselves while I take this call!!!!¨ Everybody was taken aback by her reaction. ¨NOW!¨ After that last note, the four girls jumped on Star´s bed and kept quiet.

Star simply pulled the curtains around to cover them. ¨Accept call.¨ Star said nervously.

While the girls were busy eavesdropping on her call. A boy with a red hoodie was watching his tamales steam.

¨Ok just a few more hours and they will me ready, think I will just go upstairs and distract myself.¨

As Marco was heading upstairs he heard nothing from the side of the girls, he found it weird, maybe going in to say hello will be for the best, but refuse to it, this was girl night he had nothing to do with it.

He went into his room and began to take out his books for homework when a fiery portal opened on his room, it was the demon, Tom, looking distressed and holding what it looked like an unfolded envelope.

¨Yo bro, you would never believe what I got in the mail today, did you know that Star is to marry?¨

On the girl's side, there stood the princess of Mewni in front of her magical mirror, after the usual hello and greeting came the following message.

It was Saturday of the second week, just 21 more days for the Bachelor Waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing the other characters, what do you think? Hit or Miss on personalities? The rules for the event will come next chapter.


	3. The Rules and the Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rules of the party are disclosed.

¨Listen Star, the invitations have already been sent to several princes of the multiverse, but I have to explain to you the rules for this waltz.¨ Queen Moon was trying to push tot he end of the call like she was worried that something might happen if she spent to much time on it. ¨These rules are for every prince that wants your hand in marriage to have a chance to win, so listen well.¨

On Marco´s room, Tom was explaining the same rules to a worried Earth boy. ¨So look, the rules to follow if one would want to have Star´s hand in marriage are.¨ He clears his throat. ¨First you must enter the ceremony presenting one of this invitations¨ Tom handed Marco his invitation, it looked like the usual event invitation with big letters. 

You have been chosen for the Bachelor Waltz, for the honor to marry Princess Star Butterfly from the Kingdom of Mewni.

¨The second rule, they must pass a sword-on-the-stone test, don´t worry that one's rigged¨ Queen Moon said to calm Star down. ¨It´s just a simple test to filter the unwanted ones from the influx of candidates we had to invite to look good.¨

¨OK that second test sounds like the real deal¨ Marco said scared ¨Well nothing less from the rulers of Mewni¨ Tom reiterate. ¨OK the third, and fourth conditions are easier, Thrid rule, all participants must dance with the princess, well duh otherwise it won't be a ball.¨ Marco sank deeper at the thought of Star having to dance all those boys.

¨The fourth condition is that every bachelor has to prove his worth by presenting onto you a gift of appreciation, you know the usual jewels and great actions and quests done in your name.¨ Star was really listening to everything her mother said, which is why she looked so shocked, her eyes reflected no emotion, and the only thing she could do was to nod at her words.

¨Oh crap and I thought the second rule was hard, proving one's worth to Star, she doesn´t even know what she wants how could I...¨ Marco manage to correct himself ¨How could anyone prove himself to Star, she is so unpredictable on what she wants. Just tell me the last rule get it over with¨

¨Ok? The last rule says, Respect the Princess decision. At the end of the night, Princess Star Butterfly will take into consideration all that she has seen from every single bachelor and choose in front of everyone the next King of Mewni.¨

¨So you see Star, the decision will be all yours at the end, please chose carefully and make us proud.¨ Queen Moon said with a smile trying to make Star happy, failing as her daughter could only nod and respond. 

¨So, is that all you wanted to tell me?¨ All of the girls were kind of scared at how cold Star was being. 

¨Y-yes Star, remember the waltz is in three more weeks, but you will have to come a day before to prepare for everything.¨ 

Star quickly responded ¨Yes mother, I will be happy to comply.¨ Not so different like a robot would say, or a princess after going through Saint Olga´s.

After that Star quickly ended the call and felt on her knees, all of the other girls in her room looked worried at her.

¨So, man what are you going to do?¨ Marco could only respond angrily at his friend 

¨Well what do you want me to do about it? I can´t save my best friend from this horrible fate, and if you haven't noticed I didn't receive one of those fancy invitations at my doorstep like you, I literally mean nothing to her parents and...¨ 

Marco almost felt down on tears about everything ¨...I really am useless in his situation.¨

Tom saw his friend, kneeling on the floor, stricken with sadness. So he said the most inappropriate thing he could say.

¨Yo, can I use your bathroom? I mean, I came to tell you as soon as the letter arrived so it's really an emergency.¨ 

Marco could only give him an incredulous look ¨Is through that door.¨

¨Yay, thanks, see you in a minute.¨

On the girl's side of the house, Star was unresponsive still on her knees and tears on her face, all of the other girls wanting to snap her out of it.

¨Yo, girl you should´ve told me that your parents were forcing you to chose a husband, I mean Saint O's was nothing compare to that. I´m so sorry.¨

¨Star, please tell us something, snap put of it.¨ Starfan tried some reason to her, to no avail.

The only thing Jackie could think to do was to hug Star and comfort her.

Janna could only say one thing to escape this situation ¨Hey Imma go into the bathroom for a moment¨ As soon as she went to the door she knew exactly what to do. 

A plan foiled by the presence of another person in the bathroom. ¨Whoa, who are you, and what are you doing with my tequila?¨ She was baffled at the boy with horns, three eyes, and light purple skin at the other side of the bathroom holding her liquor.

¨Oh hey, I´m Tom friend of Marco, and you are?¨

¨Name´s Janna, I´m here with Star, and she just received some terrible news and needs that bottle.¨ Janna came closer and tried to reach the tequila on Tom´s hands, just for him to move it out of reach.

¨No way creepy girl, Marco just received some bad news himself and needs it just at badly, besides I found it first which means it´s mine.¨

¨Marco is just going to tell you he doesn´t drink and leave it to rot, Star will really welcome some relief after what she just went through, demon boy.¨

¨You are assuming I´m not a bad enough influence on him to make him drink, which really offends me, to be honest.¨ Tom fake hurtfulness ¨And, yeah I have an idea on what is happening in Star´s life, but none of you can understand the perils that Marco is going through.¨

¨Ugh boy, is you feel so deeply for him just marry Marco and be done with it, but I´m not going anywhere without that bottle.¨

They both got determined looks on their faces, looking just about ready to fight for their side in this argument. Before the situation could escalate, Tom got a bright idea.

¨Ok, what about a deal creepy girl.¨ With a huge grin on his face, he knew nobody could beat him on a bet.

Janna´s eyes light up, she always dream about making a deal with a real demon.¨Ok what do you have in mind?¨

¨Rock-paper-scissors for it, just one game winner takes all, the bottle I mean.¨

Janna went from really happy to really bump out ¨Wait that's all? No hellish games, tortured souls or demonic ritualistic symbols?¨

¨Ok you really are creepy and crazy, it´s just a bottle of tequila I'm willing to play you for it but nothing that complicated.¨

¨Ugh fine, But first win takes all, we have already wasted enough time.¨

The two of them put their hands forward and at the count of three played their best moves.

A scream of joy came from Tom at his winning hand¨Yes, always trust the one and only paper.¨

Janna could only see her rock at disappointment ¨No wait, best two out of three.¨

¨Naa, we said first win takes all, I win I take all, but hey creepy girl call me if you ever want to lose your soul.¨ Tom said as he walked out of the bathroom one tequila bottle richer.

¨I will have my revenge demon boy, some day.¨ Janna could only swear at the door fist high and hurt pride, afterward, she had to return to the sleepover, she noticed however that the girls had moved Star from the floor to the bed.

¨What happened Janna? Who were you talking to?¨ Jackie said as she had switch hugging duties with Starfan.

¨Oh just some demon boy named Tom, he said he is friends with Marco, and he took my tequila.¨ That last bit she said with a face of anger.

¨WAIT, TOM IS HERE?¨ Both Star and Pony Head reacted.

¨Y-yes he said he is with Marco and after our talk, he went back to his room, why so scared of him?¨

¨Not scared girl, surprise, I didn't know those two were friends.¨ Pony Head got closer to the door, trying to hear anything from the other side, wary of what the demon boy may be planning.

¨Oh yeah, it hit me like that as well, but hey they seemed really cool around the other.¨ All the other girls in the room seem happy that Star had finally snapped out of it so they decided to ask some more about this new topic.

Meanwhile at Marco's room.

¨Hey pal look what I just found, and fought a creepy girl for.¨ Said Tom coming back from the bathroom brandishing a brand new bottle of liquor.

¨Yeah Tom, but what are we going to do with it, I don´t drink I´m 14.¨ Marco said, then thought about his friend previous sentence.

¨Wait you found it in the bathroom and you took it from a creepy girl, was her name Janna?¨ Tom nodded 

¨Well at least you took away her alcohol that I´m pretty sure Star doesn´t need that right now, but still, I don´t drink.¨

¨Aw cmon, I won it fair and square, just for us, and yeah maybe Star drunk is the thing of nightmares, but you, on the other hand, look like you really need it right now, with you know...¨ 

Marco raised an eyebrow and said ¨My best friend getting married?¨ 

Tom could only say surprised ¨Is that what we are calling it right now? When you have a huge crush on a girl you go around saying it's your best friend?¨

¨WHAT?!¨ That scream could be heard from the girl's bedroom.

¨Yeah Star, Marco´s right.¨ Janna said using that scream as her jumping point ¨I mean, your are always together and so in sync with each other, it´s hard to not see the two of you as a couple, just try to remember maybe he asked and you just don´t remember.¨ Janna said while just finishing making herself a cup of ice cream.

Jackie said half trying to tease Star. The other half enjoying her ice cream cup ¨Yes, hell when I invited him out for the last sleepover and he said no, I was totally thinking you two started dating.¨

¨I´m telling you all, no, we are just friends.¨ Star said with a smile covered in melted chocolate.

¨Yeah, and besides B-fly couldn´t date someone so uncool as that earth turd, I´m telling you that whole idea is inconceivable¨ Pony Head had to say in between gulping her own bucket of ice cream ¨AAAAAAAHHHH BRAIN FREEZE!!!!¨ And all she could only do was roll on the floor in pain.

Barely noticing Pony Head brain freeze, Starfan was looking around the bookcase in the room. ¨Aw, but I think you would make a cute couple, so opposites you attract.¨

Star refill her cup. ¨Yeah but, not of that would even matter right now, not with the hole waltz coming up.¨

The room felt in silence, Jackie was the first to talk. ¨But couldn´t you just talk with your parents, yeah I know, magical princess from another dimension but, they are still your parents.¨

¨I already did that and they just told that finding a husband will bring some stability to my life or some nonsense like that, I really don´t know if I could find a way out of this.¨

Janna almost scream ¨I have an idea!¨

¨That doesn´t include arson.¨ Star herself said.

¨I have no ideas¨ Janna said looking sad at her cup.

¨What kind of boys do you think will come?¨ Starfan asked.

¨The usual noble and upright time, some too ugly to have been born out of nobility, some to handsome for their own good, some idiots that mold themselves out of tales from books, maybe I will get some that are not humanoid at all, some princes of the fey, and of course, I think, Tom if he is here to talk with Marco he must have had received an invitation.¨ Star thought for a moment and let her spoon down. 

¨But none of them care about me for a person just a trophy or something to win, a title none of them care enough about me, not like...¨

¨Marcooooooo!¨ Starfan tried to finish the girl sentence.

¨Finish your ice cream!¨ Star buried the girl's face on her own cup.

¨Ok Star we get it, and I kinda know how Marco must feel at the moment.¨ Jackie said with a tender voice.

¨Really?¨ All the girls responded.

¨Well yeah, because it´s like all of us are feeling right now.¨

¨I feel so useless.¨ He felt some relief, just by saying out loud. ¨Can´t do anything for Star, can´t make her feel any better. Hell, even if I wanted to stop all of this I really don´t think it would be possible.¨ He just vented all his anger to his friend.

¨Well Marco, I understand that feeling, the need and want to do the impossible, and the despair of knowing you can´t, and the need to burn everything to the ground.¨ Marco could only give him an unimpressed look, to what Tom responded accordingly. 

¨Oh, screw you, I do!¨ Marco didn´t drop the look on his face but asked in a serious manner.

¨So, what do you recommend me doing?¨ Tom didn´t need time to think of an answer and he just threw the bottle he was carrying at him. ¨No Tom, I will not drink this.¨

¨Ok then, go play some video games, get a hobby, go out on a vacation, join the circus, go get marry yourself.¨ Tom then looked directly at his friend´s eyes. ¨Do anything else, but take your mind off the problem, you can even do those things with Star if it makes you feel better.¨ 

He looked at the puzzle look his friend gave him and ended his advice with. ¨Because Star will have to choose a husband and she will marry that guy, is inevitable and the more you hurt yourself thinking about it, the more it´s going to hurt you when it happens.¨

Marco got up and walked to his closet. ¨Damn, aren´t you the light of hope I needed.¨ He said while putting the bottle of alcohol inside his closet, deep down and buried it inside.

¨Ok douche, don´t ask for my opinion next time.¨ Feeling sad for his friend he decided to tone the sympathy up. ¨C´mon man, all of this doesn´t mean you two have to stop being friends, worst case scenario, guy´s an ass so we drill the fear of hell into him so he doesn´t hurt Star.¨

¨Yeah you are right.¨ He was still looking sad, even after hearing Tom's plan.

¨Well more like I'll have to do it, you are as intimidating as a bag of kittens.¨

¨HEY!!!¨ The boys saw in each other eyes, before bursting into laughter.

After taking a deep breath Tom was the first to talk. ¨And you know I am sorry that your crush has to marry a douche, damn you can't even confess now.¨

¨AAAAHG!!!¨ Marco looked embarrassed and pissed off at the same time. ¨Would you drop that already, I don´t have a crush on her.¨ After calming down a little. ¨But maybe you right.¨

¨About the fact you can´t confess or the advice.¨ He said trying to hold the chuckle.

¨Don´t start, and yeah the advice was actually good I´ll take it, but spin it around so it sounds less selfish, I did promise Star that I will be there for her.¨ Starting to smile, like he finally found a way to help his friend. 

¨So yeah she and I could do tons of things to take our minds out of this, and I don´t know how yet but I will totally be there that night. She is going to need all the help she can to go through that night.¨ A full smiled was on his face while looking to the ground.

¨Well the invitation is for the prince only, I was thinking of spending that night torturing souls, but I can find a way to smuggle you inside. I don´t know if we could even pass the sword test but if we do, we will have a good time, think about it as another party, just with no alcohol, and two people agree to get marry.¨

¨Eh, we have parties like that here on Earth, but that last part comes more unexpected.¨

¨Amazing yeah, and, after the whole thing we can hit Saint Olga´s and hook up with some of the renegade princesses.¨

Marco almost groaned at that comment, but if he was following Tom´s advice, he could say very little. ¨Why not? But, nothing too over the top, please.¨

¨Sure but, hey I have to go I don't want Star to realize I'm here and blasts me off like last time. But hey you need something or want to break some skulls just call me on the magic mirror.¨

¨Ok Tom... but wait could you do me a favor?¨

¨Sure what´s up?¨

¨Can you like investigate or get some information about who else received a letter.¨

An evil grin formed on Tom's face. ¨Casing the competition Mr. Diaz, very good plan.¨ His eyes lit with red flames inside. ¨Or maybe you want to ELIMINATE the competition.¨ With a fiery aura forming behind him now.

¨Tom, you are scaring me, and no, it´s just to know for sure that no other maniac is going to the party.¨

Turning his fire off and completely calm, Tom smiled ¨Well thanks for the compliment, I do like being the only maniac on the house, and sure I will dig up everything I can find. ´Night.¨ And he disappeared on the other side of a fire portal.

¨Damn I hope he doesn´t go overboard with this.¨ With that last note, he prepared himself to sleep, or more like, think about everything that was happening while laying down, but what worried him was the lack of sound the girls had on their side.

¨So B-fly, what do you want to do about the whole waltz thingy?¨ Pony Head said to her best friend, but clearly, it was a cue for the rest of the girls to start throwing ideas. ¨We could crash the whole thing, invite all of the renegade princesses and go on rave.¨

¨You could escape and live with me like my twin sister forever.¨ Starfan filled her eyes of hope.

¨I said you declare yourself an independent woman on the stage and throw all of the boys to the monster forest to fend for themselves.¨ Janna mimicked cries for help and monsters screaming.

¨Or chose the pacifist route and talk your parents out of this, no destruction or craziness just a little talk and nothing needs to happen.¨ Trying to turn down the other girls, Jackie voiced her opinion, and it seemed like the best of all.

Looking pensive, Star weighed all the ideas. "I do have a new pair of scissors, bringing in the renegade princesses should be easy." Rubbing her chin, half her guests began to smile, while the other looked worried.

Throwing her own opinion on Jackie's words, and putting aside her wishes, Pony Head intervene. ¨Eh not really my style, the hole facing your parents and opening up to them, but you do have a better relationship with yours than I ever will with mine B-fly. Give it a try, I mean they are already forcing you to marry, what's the worst they could do?¨

Janna and Starfan looked at each other. Jackie's idea was better, but Janna still wanted to go her route. ¨We like our idea better Star, but hey it´s your life you choose what to do.¨

Even Starfan needed to accept reality at some points. "Besides, we're kinda crazy sometimes, so listening to us may not be the best decision right now."

Thinking really hard by herself the only conclusion for this was. "How difficult will it be for the Diaz's to adopt me?" Her words took everyone by surprise, till they realize she may be joking.

"Yeah, bad idea. I don't hate my parents just their stupid decision." Thinking for another second, a new idea pop on her head.

Star wasn't one hundred percent sure about this one though. "I'll go with it, the waltz, the princes, and the trials. I'll even make the choice at the end of the night." All the girls were shocked at her acceptance. 

¨But not before I can talk with my parents, they need to know how I feel about all of this. Maybe if I can get them to listen to me, I can convince them to let me off the hook.¨ Everyone there looked relieved, for a second, they thought that Star had snapped.

"Till I can think of what to say, I need to play ball, and I could use the company in the meanwhile." Maybe all her time with Marco made her say the next sentence though. "But I need to know you won't do anything crazy nor over the top."

The whole room was quiet for some time before Janna spoke up.

¨Man screw that!¨ She got up and walk to Star ¨Star if your parents don´t call off this think, we're not gonna to take it, we will be there that night for everything you need.¨ Star almost began crying while hearing this. ¨Right girls? Be it moral support, or to help you escape, we will be there for you.¨

¨Yeah Star, and even after whatever happens, we will still be friends, no waltz is changing that.¨ Jackie was the second one to stand, and she hugged Star to reassure her promise.

¨I am Starfan, forever sworn to be your fan and to adore you, nothing will ever change that either.¨ Said joining the group hug.

¨I can´t hug you Star but I really wish I could right now.¨ Pony Head said resting herself on top of the girls.

As all of the girls began to tear and sob, Star was the most touched by the moment, after a moment like this, she began to cry loudly.

On the other side of the bathroom door, Marco also began crying in silence after hearing the devotion the rest of Star friends have for her, so he promised to himself. ¨I swear Star, I´ll be there for you, we will go through this together, all of us, even Tom supports you Star.¨ He began to compose himself and walk to his room. ¨Getting you out of this thing might be impossible, but I will never leave you.¨

With that last sentimental note, he finally found himself able to sleep, the girls were able to continue her sleep over till late night, but the topic of Star´s problems never came out again, which it was good for all of them, they had each other and they couldn´t wish for anything more.

The next morning was like every other, just that there were more girls on the breakfast table, and the whole breakfast was tamales. After it, the teenagers all talk among themselves, and just a few minutes after noon Janna´s mom came to pick up the human girls home. And Star took princess Pony Head upstairs to get ready and leave through a portal, but before she could.

¨Hey Pony Head, could you do me a favor?¨ Star stopped her friend before leaving.

¨Sure girl anything, just name it.¨

¨Can you find out who got invitations for the waltz?¨

¨Nice planning girl, you won't have to choose if we intimidate everyone not to show up.¨

She began pondering that idea. ¨Mmmm... but no Pony Head, just give me a heads up if any weirdo has one.¨ Star quickly fished out the list with the names of the bachelor's and handed it to Pony Head. "Here, my mom gave me their names, do with that what you will."

She glanced at the names for a second. ¨Sure, it can be done, I just need to talk to the right person, but remember Star, we are all here for you.¨ 

On that last note, the two of them hug and Pony Head leave. All alone Star went downstairs to help Marco clean everything up. Just another lazy Sunday.

Sunday of the second week, 20 more days to the bachelor waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter and I already know this is for the long run. I thought about Tom and Marco's friendship as one based on honesty, taking the ending of friendnemies in mind, what do you think?


	4. Before and after Running with Scissors.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I needed, or more like wanted, to fit Heckapoo on the fanfic. So I gave her episode a bit of a twist at the end.

The next school week after the sleepover was normal and uneventful, Star regain her usual happy and bright attitude, she hung up with her friends a bit more, both at school and out of it. Marco himself made sure to keep them both busy, either by being out on the town until dinner time, or dimension hopping. 

It felt like Star limiter was broken, because the two of them went around on adventures without reason or objective, sometime Star heard a rumor of a sleeping dragon, and she just had to make a shield out of one of its scales, or the two of them followed the old urban legend to find the secret treasures of an old band of interdimensional pirates. 

Another day they went with all the girls to find the best pizza on the know dimensions, which they had to stop in the middle of it as everybody began getting sick. At Echo Creek, they did the usual stuff, from hanging out at the mall, the cinema, Star even went with Marco at karate practice, the two of them barely eat dinner at home anymore, like they were trying every fast food restaurant in town like it was the last time they could.

The whole week the topic of Stars waltz never came out, it was like an unspoken agreement to not talk about it, Star didn't even hear from her parents the whole week, nor did Marco from Tom about the assignment he asked of him. Really it was a tired week, but for all of the good reasons, the adventures, the friendship, all of that pizza, it was like spring break but with a school to attend to. That very Saturday the two besties were out of ideas on what to try next, so they were just lazying around on Star's bedroom eating the usual nachos.

"Ugh Marcoooo!!! what do we do today, I'm getting bored faster than usual." She said, eating nachos out of a dragon scales shield.

"Well I really don't think we could do anything, I mean yeah the multi-dimensional universe is infinite and full of countless options, but it's like premium TV, you have too many options, once we try everything, all of the rest seems boring and tired," Marco said, wearing an old pirate hat while sitting on a pile of loot. "You know Scrooge sure makes gold coins seem more comfortable than they really are." 

Star could only agree with both of the very philosophical statements his friend just made. "Hey pass the nacho platter." Star nodded and stood up to pass the nachos. "You know, I kinda felt bad about breaking and entering into that dragon's house, but for us to have the perfect friendship platter, I must say, worth it."

"Well let's just stay here and talk while we think of something to do." She said while letting herself fall on the pile of treasure. "Ouch, the coins are really uncomfortable."

"The trick is to bury yourself in them, like a beanie bag you know."

Star just took a moment to bury her back till she found the right spot "Oh yeah, just like that, but I should be careful, gold coins on the pants are really annoying."

"Tell me about it, and say what about the girls, what have they been telling you?"

"Well, nothing out of the ordinary, they still recovering from pizza marathon, Pony Head been going around all places lately but she hasn't seen anything new." Star thought for a moment while grabbing more nachos "Oh! Janna is planning on pranking you Monday after class, but I don't know the details."

"Ugh that Janna always doing that, thanks for the heads up by the way." Marco suddenly remembered something about last week that he thought nothing about till today "Hey you know last week during your time at the slumber party, Tom visited me."

Star, surprised, more for the fact she knew about it but because she just seemed to have brushed it off the first time she heard it "Oh yeah Janna told me she ran into him, in the bathroom?" she just now realize how weird that situation sounded.

"Yes exactly, I didn't even process that thing till now, he just told me that she seem creepy and he had..." Marco remembering what Tom brought from the bathroom and stop himself from saying it.

"He had what Marco?"

"Ah? Nothing we just talked about different things, how he is keeping on the therapy, and things... don't worry about it." Marco then tried to change the subject. "But tell me what did you thought about the whole sleepover, did it help?"

Star already had her answer fort hat ready. "Sure it did Marco, thanks by the way for everything." After that she hugged her bestie, after breaking it up, she thought on that night and a few things all of them talked about and something came into her mind like a bolt of lightning.

"Hey, Marco?"

"Yeah Star, something troubling you?"

"No, it's just, well don't answer if you don't feel like it..." Marco was both worried and intrigued about her statement "Why did you turn Jackie down when she asked you out?"

Marco almost choked on his nachos after hearing that, he wasn't ready for that question, much less was he ready with an answer "I... just eh...what?" He couldn't find the words to speak, and he was sure he became redder than a tomato.

Seeing her friend go red because of her question made her go red as well "Oh, I'm really sorry Marco, you don't have to answer sorry, I'm sorry."

Marco inhaled quickly. "It was just, I didn't felt anything for her at that moment, well not at all, I really was happy that a girl asked me out but I realize, I didn't feel like I liked her that way anymore. I know it's really stupid and totally weird but.. eh... I don't... really know." Marco began to panic, he really thought that he was being a total douche in front of Star, and he was totally freezing at a critical moment.

Star could see his friend starting to panic, so she bail him out of the topic "No Marco, I really understand what do you mean don't worry heh...heh... I just..." Star opened up to her friend, who he was starting to calm down "It's just that it took me by surprise when that happen, and I didn't want to question you but I was just thinking you will tell me when you were ready... sorry if I pressure you." Star looked really sad that maybe she open up some past scars.

Now Marco was really worried that by doing all that he just bring his friend down, the last thing he wanted to do "No Star, actually it feels nice talking to you about it, especially for me, and hey now that I'm not centered on Jackie I could find someone for real, like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders." He said with a kinda forced smile.

All that really sounded nice for Star, she really liked the feeling that his friend could be happy, and that she had another chance to play matchmaker with him, to help him of course.

"So tell me, what kind of girl would you like to date Marcooooooooo."

Taken aback from that playful tone he tried to respond "Well, I really don't know, I haven't thought about that actually, and I really won't like to say someone like Jackie or another person mmm..." He gave it a deep and long thought process, what kind of girl would he like to date?

"Well if I have to say..."

Call from Mom.

The magic mirror interrupted the teenagers.

"Quick Marco get on that pirate chest!!!"

Without thinking he jumped on the pirate chest and quickly close it. Star got up and answered the call.

"Star sweetie, how have you been?"

"Awesome Mom!" She threw her arms up in the air, it was her instinctive reaction.

Queen Moon was surprised at Star's happy attitude, so she really did not want to say this "Star I need to be quick, Friday after school you are going to have to come back home for the weekend, we need to practice for the waltz." She prepared herself for screams or tears, but what happened next surprised her.

"Thanks for the heads up Mom, do I have to take anything?" Star said with a more calmed attitude.

Again taken back for the mood of her daughter "No, just bring your wand, here we will practice the whole event, and we will talk about it more in detail, good night sweetheart."

Star remember what Jackie had told her and knew this was the best opportunity to talk with her parents about calling all of this off "Goodnight Mom, again thanks for the heads up." And after that, she hung up.

On Mewni, Queen Moon was actually happy for how good that went with Star, maybe this was the right idea all along.

Back on Earth, Marco get out of the treasure chest and approach his friend, he was also expecting tears or something worse, but he could only see the look of determination on Stars face, still, he approached his friend with care.

"Star, how do you feel?"

Looking at her friend with a carefree smile "Uh? Well still bored, but now, I know what to do. Come next weekend I'm going to talk with my parents and once and for all put a stop to this whole thing!" She said it with pride on her eyes, filled with confidence she held her magic wand high, impressing even her bestie.

And it was obvious that Marco was impressed, Star never looked more determined than now, but he was also taken aback by the last part of her statement. It had the same amount of courage when she said it, perhaps even more, but it felt lacking in intensity.

"Wow Star, just wow, but you know, I didn't take you for a talker. Sorry, I thought that if you ever decided to do anything it will involve more warnicorns and at least arson, what brought that idea to your mind?"

"Jackie and the girls, last week when we were talking about it, yes it may have been some talks about arson or destruction, but a heartfelt talk with my parents sounded like the better option, and..." She held her hand against her heart really opening up at this moment 

"I now what my parents must think, this past week I have been thinking what's the point of the waltz." She sat down on her bed to be more comfortable during her thought process.

Marco sat beside her and tried to gave his own opinion on the matter "Well, I'll be lying if I said I wasn't curious myself, but didn't they told you they wanted to give you some stability or to give you some perception or something?" He didn't want to remember that conversation he had with Star, so he couldn't recollect much information from the event.

"Well I may have had an outburst before they could explain everything, so I really didn't get any answers from them, mom told me how she was kinda like me, on the self-going and independent aspect, but that once my dad came into her life it changed hole or something like that." She could see Marco's face ponder over her statement 

"I promised I will ask them next week. The point is, that I know that they aren't bluffing, this isn't the usual move where I could pretend to straighten up and go by the book or promise to get better on my training." She sat with her knees on her torso "This isn't like Saint O's, this is the real deal." Marco dropped his intrigued look and began showing a worried expression.

"And by that logic I really can't do the same things that I did in the past, I mean if this is as real as I think, it may not be enough, but at least talking with them, showing that I'm no longer a kid, maybe I could give them something to think about, don't you think?" She looked at her best friend with expecting eyes, to be shown some support.

But Marco only showed her more concern, he was looking for the right words, it was true that from a hopeful point of view, that mentality might work, Star's parents didn't seem unreasonable people. But for him, it sounded like an innocent idea that was likely not to happen, but he could not lie to his bestie, and Star's eyes sure have been staring at her for very long now.

"Star, I'm sure that idea might work, might, and I know I never even met your parents, like, at all. Well, at least I don't know your mom as much as your dad."

"But I have, to be honest, I think that is not going to work, or more like, it might work but I'm not 100% it will." It almost tore a hole in his heart when he noticed the smile on his best friend's face drop, and only could he see sadness. "But again, it looks like a good idea, and to be honest it's our only idea, so try it. I might not think it will work but you so focused on it I'm sure you will make it work."

Star was almost crushed on her best friend words, she felt betrayed and all the hope she had on her plan ran out for a moment, but all of it came back along with something new, anger, and directed right at Marco.

"Yeah, and what would a boy from Earth could know about Mewni! What would you know about my parents! Or me for that matter..." That last comment shook Marco more than Star's spontaneous rage

"What, you think just because we live together and know each other for less than a year you suddenly know what's better for me!" Her voiced cracked on that last sentence, she began to tear and quickly stood up

"I don't even know why I told you about this Marco. Don't you think I'm just stupid and haven't noticed what you been doing" Marco try to put a hand on her shoulder from behind, just to have it quickly slapped away, afterwards Star turn to face him and with a face of hatred she screamed at his face

"You been trying to distract me, treating me like an idiot that can't handle her problems, yes, this may not be a good idea, but what do YOU have, you are just content sitting there watching my life get ruined." After that, she just crossed her arms and looked at the floor, crying.

Marco was also tearing, a little bit less than his friend, but not less worried about Star.

"Star please just understand... I... I didn't mean anything like that... we were just having a good time right?" Marco kept his distance but also tried to defuse his angered friend.

"Besides I didn't mean that you plan won't work, just that it sounded like you say, all promises and nothing to show." He quickly hated himself for his comment, he realized how much of an idiot he sounded just after he finished saying it.

Star was heartbroken and could only say what first came to mind and heart.

"Get out Marco, I don't want to talk to you, hell I don't want to see you anymore."

Holding back all the tears he could, still trying to say something "But Star..." just to be met with a magic blast that launched him outside her room into the hallway.

Angry now at his friend overreaction he pounded really hard at the door to her bedroom "FINE DO WHAT YOU WANT I WON'T HELP YOU!!!" and with that the hit the door again even harder, and he began stomping into his own bedroom.

Just on the middle of the hallway, he was confronted by his father, he stood very differently from the usual, and he was actually wearing a disapproving face, with some touches of rage here and there.

"Marco, what happen with Star in there, your mom and I heard you from downstairs." For Marco this was a new reaction from his father, it kinda scared the anger out of him.

"It was Star dad, we were having fun and all of the sudden she gets angry at me for nothing and..."

Still his father didn't drop his looks "You know what Star has been going through Hijo, maybe it's you that should be careful with what you say, or what you do."

"What do you mean dad, I can't do anything, the only thing I can do is be honest with her, don't you agree she deserves at least that?" Marco was unable to keep his emotions down this time.

"Have you any idea how I feel on this whole mess?! I'm useless, a good for nothing idiot that can't even help his own friend!" He stopped screaming and began crying and sobbing out loud. "And now Star hates me, she doesn't even want me around anymore."

Mr. Diaz at drop his angry scowl, and reached to his son, hugging him closely trying to comfort him "Marco it's ok to feel that way, but you can't let that feeling cloud your vision. I'm sure Star doesn't hate you, the two of you are the best of friends after all."

They stayed there for a few minutes, it was weird ti say the least. Marco wasn't unfamiliar about being hugged by his parents, but this felt different.

Marco finally calmed down enough for his father to break the hug, but he still couldn't look at him in the eyes.

"That feeling of hopelessness happens in life, but the best thing you can do during those moments is to be with someone that understands you and support you. Yes, you and Star can come to us anytime you want..." Marco finally looked up, still with tears flowing out of his eyes, but more calmed down.

"But it's obvious that sometimes you need a friend to go through those situations, remember that right now, you are not the only one feeling like that."

Marco, broke eye contact, clean the tears out of his face, just to have them quickly replace with new ones, he said nothing to his father and just continue onto his room. His father giving him a worried look as he entered his bedroom and closed the door.

Star was just practicing her magic, aiming while listening to her music with the headphones on, still distressed about her previous conversation with Marco, and still thinking about what he truly meant. 

It was true, maybe, that she was putting too much faith on a simple plan, but why did Marco have to say it like that? It really upset her, and it angered her more that what he said made so much sense for her, she was going to her parents with only words and promises, just like before, but she didn't have anything else. 

It upset her to no end that he was right, but she was still angry at Marco. She could just try and avoid Marco for some time, at least till one of them apologizes to the other, it was trivial, but she couldn't think of anything else.

The next day, it was Sunday and pouring like crazy outside.

Star herself was unimpressed by the rain, she was focusing on her magic practice in her own room, the headphones she was wearing pretty much nulled all outside noise from her bedroom, it was the perfect atmosphere for magic practice.

Being a day later from her fight with Marco, she was almost over it, still, she was not talking with her bestie, but she was not actively ignoring him. It just like the two of them were giving themselves a break from the other, still, the fight happened yesterday and for her to have stopped feeling so angry about it, it made her think that she should go and apologize just to make it feel right. Yeah, she should, next time they spoke.

After that thought, Marco entered her room and quickly said. "Hey, can I borrow your dimensional scissors for a second?" Star didn't even flinch or give it a second thought

"Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"Thanks." And he left the room.

It took a moment for Star to realize the opportunity that had past "Damn it, well next time is the good one." She said to herself before going back to target practice.

A few minutes, a strange man with his dog, and a call to Pony Head later, Star realize that Marco had gone to town with the dimensional portals, and may have attracted the unwanted attention of Hekapoo the forger of scissors. She readied her wand and with the scissors, she took from Ludo, was able to quickly arrive in front of Hekapoo front door.

It was odd, to say the least, this whole gloomy swamp was one thing, but the door to Hekapoo's door was unprotected, still, she took her time and carefully approach to the door, in case any hidden traps where about.

When she was close enough to touch the door, she inhaled deeply and with all of her strength kick the door open. 

It was, surprising, to say the least. She went from surprise to being hugged by a complete stranger, to confused at knowing that the stranger was, in fact, her own best friend, and finally to arousal at her friend hot body. All of that in just a few seconds but what really upset and shook her was when Marco said that he wished not to return to Earth.

Star was almost destroyed by his words, the two of them may have been besties for less than a year, but all of that time was precious to Star, she could never part with Marco, at least not like this, with him on this new life on constant adventures with no place for her. She could never imagine her life without her bestie there, he was just that important to her.

But at the end, hearing him accept to go back home almost made her tear up, Marco said his goodbyes and they both return to Earth with the help of his new scissors. At Marco's house, she excused herself to her room thinking that maybe her friend needed some time to readjust himself, 16 years on another dimension might take a toll on him, but she had faith that he will be fine when she heard him take the puppies for a walk. She simply continues to practice her marksmanship but at the last moment.

"Crap, I forgot to apologize to Marco again. Ok for real, next time when he returns." After that, she put her headphones on and continue to practice.

One quick walk around the park later, Marco returned home and let the laser puppies run amock by themselves, he quickly went upstairs to dry off and change clothes from his dimensional adventurer outfit, for his more familiar red hoodie and brown pants. 

"Well adventure clothes, till I need you again, hope that's soon to be honest" He said while folding his jacket and pants on a cardboard box, and hiding them in his closet, just next to the tequila bottle Tom gave him last week "Man I need to get rid of that bottle, someday." was his last thought before falling into his bed.

Suddenly he recalled one last unfinished business that he had to give closure too. Standing in front of Star's bedroom, he confidently knocked.

"It's open." said Star from the other side of the room.

He quickly opened up and entered, finding his bestie destroying baseballs with her blasts "Hey Star, what do the baseballs do to you?" As he looked at the remains of several scorched objects that suffer the same fate.

"Oh nothing I'm just targeting practicing, I'm getting good at this finally." She smiled as she was able to hit every target, even without looking, suddenly her attention change to the boy in her room. "Oh yeah!"

They both say in unison "Hey I wanted to talk to you." They both were taken back at what the other said. "Ok, you go first..." Again talking like they were in synch. "Stop doing that..." And again, now it just seemed funny to the both of them, quickly Marco inhale.

"Ok, I'll go the first Star" He realized that they had said it in unison, but this time there was a huge grin on Star's face, she felt so smart that she caught that on purpose and began laughing, Marco had to give it to her, he felt for that one.

"Yeah, but serious time now Marco, you can go first." Star took point on her bed, and Marco just stood by one of the corners of her bed.

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry, you know about what happen all those years ago... and by all those years I mean yesterday heh heh." He tried to cover his slip but was obviously failing. 

"You know when I anger you by not supporting your idea? And you said I thought you were and idiot..." Star had lost her smile and change it with a sad look on her eyes.

"I know Star, I should have trusted you, but I just said all of that without thinking, I'm sorry, I don't think you're stupid and I DO trust that you can take care of this."

"No Marco, I was the one that overreacted. I understand that now, you were just saying the truth, you gave me your honest opinion and I got mad at you for it, I got mad at you for being sincere to me." She got up from her bed and hug Marco "And I'm sorry about it, I had been under a lot of pressure for this hole waltz thing."

Marco couldn't help it and hug her back "Yes Star I can only imagine, but still, I should have remembered that when I was here yesterday"

"Hey you said the time correctly," She said breaking the hug, and looking at his eyes.

"Wow I really did it, so can we just acknowledge that we were wrong to some degree and accept each other apologies?" Now he was smiling at how fast she was able to forgive him.

Star nodded in agreement "Besides, I wasn't even mad at you anymore, I was really more scared that you were still furious at me."

Marco's hand waved at her answer "Pfft, I will never be angry at you forever, I was way over it even before being trapped in another dimension for 16 years." He sat down on his usual pile of pirate treasure before he could continue "But those years help me plan what to say to you"

Star sat beside him, "And all that was the best you could come up?" She just loved teasing him, but after she realized she may have said the wrong thing.

"Ha Star just ha, I just thought to leave simple and short in case you began blasting me out of your room" He follow Star's tease with some of his own.

The two of then cross eyes and began to laugh, for Marco it was the first time he had been with his best friend in 16 years, he had really missed her company.

For Star, this was like usual, but they never had a fight like the one yesterday, it felt like a huge boulder was taken from her shoulders knowing that Marco was still her best friend it really meant a lot to have him with her.

As the teenagers stop their laugh, the girl was the first one to say "Hey Marco can I ask you something about your adventures?"

"Yeah sure, anything." He said with anticipation.

"Did you ever felt alone there?" What? What is up with that question, she thought after saying it.

Marco began recollecting his memories "Well yes, at the beginning I was so scared of the whole thing, even H-poo didn't give a crap about me..." He was having difficulties remembering exact situations, he could remember mostly feelings and people 

"But then I had Nachos, and even H-poo warmed up to me, she isn't a bad person, she is really cute when you get to know her."

"Marcoooooo, don't tell me you were chasing around Hekapoo in more than one way." Star began her statement with more curiosity than concern.

"Uh... well..." He really didn't want to answer that "You promise to never say this to anyone?" he was looking more embarrassed than scared that Hekapoo knew that he open his mouth.

Star was just intrigued, this had the juicy filling of great gossip, but this was Marco so maybe it wasn't that big "Of course Marco, you can tell me anything."

Marco looked away in embarrassment and retracted from speaking about it "You know what? It really was nothing just forget it. Please." That last beg was lost to Star, which now just wanted that truth, the suspense was killing her.

"No Marco, no can't do, you said I could ask everything, now tell me!"

"I did say that, but I never said I answer all your questions," He said regaining his smile.

"What!? No fair Marco you led me on to something intriguing, now you de-li-ver."

"I promise one day I will tell you when you are older." he said firmly to end the topic "And I promise you I will answer all your next questions with the truth."

"Ok, boring, but I will make you tell me this one day, mark my words." Star thought of something good to ask next, suddenly a question pop on her head and she said sadly 

"Did... did you really never thought about coming back during your time there, even if it meant losing to Hekapoo? And were you totally serious when you said you wanted to stay?" Star was concerned that she had stepped to far on the boundaries.

"To be honest, I barely thought about Earth on my time there, I now is weird and ungrateful of me but hear me out" Marco then began to remember his time on the multiverse, and how his mind and memories about his adventures were a jumbled mess in his head.

"It's like, all my memories from Earth were forgotten, or more likely, they were there but as long as nothing reminded me of them, I never thought about them..."

He got up and began pacing around the room slowly "I mean I recognize you immediately yes, but It felt like a fountain of memories were brought back the instant I say you, and when you mentioned my parents and friends I suddenly remembered how much I had missed them."

Marco looked at his friend that was sporting a puzzled look on her face "So, for some reason, it was like your mind put all your Earth stuff on hold till something juggle your memories?"

"Yeah, just like that, just now I just was thinking how much I missed you too." He said with a smile to his friend.

"Aw Marco, so sweet of you." the girl blush a little at his last comment. "Ok last question of the day before I return to practice."

She had the perfect question now "What kind of girl would you like to date?"

This broke all the cool that Marco had put on "WHAT!?"

"Remember yesterday, the call from my mom interrupted you when I asked you that."

"No Star, no, it has been a long day I could not answer you even if I wanted to." He said trying to avoid the whole topic.

"But you have to Marco, you said that you would answer all of my questions with the truth, you never said what topics could I use." She gave her friend a smug smile and an equally smug look.

Marco surrendered to that logic and prepare and answer "Yes you are right, but I'm gonna give you a mess of a response. I didn't think about dating much on the other dimension."

He sat down on Star's bed to think, for a few minutes just going 'Mmmm...' "Ok I got it" Star perk up ready to listen "I wish I could date somebody that challenges me." He said very confidently about his sentence.

"Wait like Hekapoo? What does that even mean? So, wait you two did had something?" Star was getting more confused at Marco's answer the more she thought about it.

"What? No Star, not a challenge like that, and I told you I won't speak about it now."

"So explain please." Star was eager to understand Marco's thought than anything else right now.

"I want a girl that always expects me to better myself, the kind of girl that would make me try new things, and to be more confident in life, essentially I want somebody to be in a relationship where we both influence each other for the better."

It finally clicked with Star, well a little bit, the important thing is that she understood the idea in general "Oh Marco that was so a safe kid answer, you know that right?"

"What!? Where are you coming from with that?" He said surprised.

"You sounded like I asked who would you like to marry, it's just dating Marco, they are meant to be fun and have a good time with a person you have the hots for, relax for a bit, jeez." She could only laugh at her friend and the way he thought about the whole thing.

"Oh cmon Star, I told you I didn't have time to think about it all those minutes, so forgive me if my answer didn't amuse you." He said almost hurt, but still embarrassed at his friend laughs.

"It was amusing Marco, and funny, but yeah it is a good thought." She began to stand up and pick up her headphones "Well Marco, it was a good talk, but I need to return to practice, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's getting kind of late, see you tomorrow Star, don't stay up too late." And with that Marco was gone, on his way to his own room.

"Pfft, silly Marco." she could only smile remembering her friend's response.

It was Sunday of the third week. Just 13 more days till the Bachelor Waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope I nailed that father-son interaction. Fitting Heckapoo was easier than I thought, but her influence would be bigger later on.


	5. Boy's (Long) Night Out.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter yet, this will either be liked or hated, at least that's what I think will happen.

After the events labeled as "Running with Scissors" by Star and Marco, the two best friends seemed to go back to normal. 

While two weeks ago Star was totally depressed and unenergetic, and just one week ago she expended more time with Marco and her lady friends, this week she was back to normal Star, sad no more but at the same time not extra energetic or happy. 

For Star, this weekend was going to be a big one so she wanted to be prepared for it, she double her training and practice her speech that she was going to give her parents, and as a sign of good faith, she asked Marco from time to time to hear her and point out improvements that she could make.

Marco, on the other hand, was a little distant from the world in general, aside from his little talks with Star and family over the week. Aside from karate practice he barely went out after school, most of the time he spent at home with either schoolwork, house chores, or helping Star practice her magic and speech. At school, he still hung out with his friends, but he didn't talk to them, he was just there barely listening to any conversations that happened around him. 

It was odd for everybody close to him, but Star didn't felt right to explain what had happened to him last Sunday, she understood that he needed some time to readjust and if he didn't want to share it, she was ok with it. But Marco became more and more reserved as the week passed, so much that Star had to intervene.

"So Marco, what do you think about it?" Star said to her bestie, that seemed to have lost all interest in her.

He didn't even hear her, he was just too immersed in his thoughts "Oh, yeah it was alright."

"C'mon Marco, you are not listening anymore, or do you really think I should burn all of the corn fields?"

"Sorry Star, it's just I'm a little distracted today, I think karate class was very hard for me yesterday." He tried to calm his friends, he was just sorry that his whole attention wasn't focused on just one point as of late.

With a worried look, she answered "Marco you have been worrying me all the week, you been kind of detached lately. I thought that it was just for what happened with Hekapoo but you just look more and more submerged on that."

He began to walk out of the room apologizing "Sorry Star, it's just that, I have a lot on my mind lately, sorry for making you worry I should just go."

She ran up to him trying to stop him "Wait, Marco, I want you to do me a favor today."

He gave his friend a puzzled look "What do you mean Star, well ok I will do you a solid, what's up?"

Star thought for a moment if she really wanted to say what she was thinking "Well you see, I have been thinking about what you did for me, the sleepover you plan it and all, I wanted to help you like that, but I myself couldn't plan a good thing even if I wanted to, soooooooooo..." She thought she was going insane for saying this words.

"Call Tom!" she said out loud.

*Calling Tom*

"Marco please go out with Tom, or something, I really think it will help you right now, crap I need to hide!" She said in rapid succession before jumping onto the pirate chest beside the mountain of treasure in her room.

Marco was totally surprised as to what just happened, so much that he wasn't really able to respond when his friend answered the mirror.

"Yo Starlight, what's... oh... hey Marco." The disillusion on his voice was not lost to both teenagers.

"Wow Tom, so much for getting over her man," Marco said almost disappointed for his friend.

"Just tell me what are you calling me about, oh! Duh..." Tom said when he realize the obvious reason "You called for the information about the princes that would go to the waltz right? "

Marco seriously had forgotten about it, he told him about that more than a week ago, and to top it all off, Star just heard all of that.

Star had to cover her mouth in order to keep quiet.

Marco tried to change the topic "Yeah about that, no! I was actually thinking if you wanted to go out to, wherever you have been trying to convince me to go with you?" Oh, he wasn't going to buy this.

"Oh yeah sure, come to my house we will set something up, in fact, I could use our help with getting info on one prince, I'll wait here." And with that, he hung up.

After Tom hung up, Star got out of the treasure chest looking sheepish, Marco tried speaking up to dissolve the awkward situation.

"So Star, I have to go to Tom's right now, soooooo. See you later?"

"Yes Marco, don't let me stop you heh heh."

Yep, it's official, everything was awkward right now, the two teenagers lock eyes, they began to blush while looking at each other, both with worried eyes. But the environment just made Marco surrender and he had to get out before he died of embarrassment "Soooo, tell my parents where I'm, and I promise not to get back too late." And off he went to his room.

Star, alone and confused about Tom's comment, really didn't know what to think about it, what does it mean that Marco asked Tom about the princes of the waltz?

What was he planning to do with the information? She suddenly remembered that she also asked that of Pony Head, so maybe he was just thinking about her own self-being like herself. She prayed that Pony Head had forgotten about that favor too, she now thought it sounded really silly of her to ask that.

Marco was just thinking about his get together with Tom, well he was trying to, at least so that his train of thought didn't wander onto what Star may be thinking about Tom's comment. 

He was also confused about Star plan, he had an idea about what she might have meant, the hole, take his mind out of his problems, but he felt bad at how Star was worrying about his problems when he told her he was going to be helping her with her's. 

So what was best right now is for him to follow Star's plan, who knows, maybe he could have a good time.

He went into his closet and began looking for something to wear for the night, he looked at all of his red hoodies "Too casual, maybe?" Then his suits for dances and formal wear "Too upright, maybe?" He didn't have and answer for his outfit, that's when he looked down, to a lone box buried deep on his closet "Well I'll be going out with Tom so maybe a more dark look will help."

He took out the black jacket from inside the box, he quickly changed it from his usual red hoodie to his black jacket and pants. He looked at himself in the mirror, and, at least for himself, looked pretty good, he complimented it with his own black fingerless gloves and declare himself ready for the night, losing no time opening a portal to Tom's room.

"Hey Tom, sorry for the wait I didn't know what to wear."

Tom was playing on his own pinball machine, he was wearing an outfit akin to his normal clothes, just no ragged pants, and a black long coat with torn sleeves, still with his red shirt underneath "Don't worry I just finish changing myself as well, but tell me, how do you fell about shadowing a prince?"

That kind of implication was not lost to Marco "Like wishing it isn't as weird as you made it out to be."

His own words just catch up with him "Let me explain, I was looking for information about the princes that have or may have received an invitation to the waltz as you asked me to, but sometimes some of them just feel... odd, to me, so I go in person and I talk to them a while in person." He looked like he was serious about this whole thing, which made Marco chuckle a bit.

"Wow Tom, I didn't take you for the private eye kind of guy."

His comment took a reaction out of Tom "Well I'm doing a favor to not one, but two friends with this, besides I can read people's real intentions like a pro, I'm a demon if you hadn't notice, so insight is kinda second nature to me."

"True that, so tell me whats the plan for tonight?"

"We will go to Hel-A, first of all."

Marco, questioned with a puzzled look "Hel-A?"

"It's a bar/dance floor/lounge/gladiatorial arena on the underworld dimension, the prince that I'm talking about goes there almost daily, surely we will find him there."

"Ok, and after we make contact what will we do?" Marco started to act like a detective stereotype he saw on several TV shows.

"Easy we talk to him, we aren't cops Marco, we just want to get to know the guy, that's why we are going early, we are pulling double duty as a get together for you and the gathering of information."

Marco chuckled again, Tom just sounded to into this whole thing, but it could just be that he really wanted to go to this place "Ok, Tom just say when and I will bring us there." He said flashing his brand new dimensional scissors.

"Wow, you got yourself some nice scissors, how you got them?"

"Long story let's save it for later, so? Ready?"

"Sure bro, let's have a good time, we will talk about what I have found while we are there."

With that last note Marco opened a portal to Hel-A, they arrived at the entrance and Marco was awestruck by the gates he saw before him. 

Huge wooden doors with markings of old ruins he only remembered seeing on history books, and a few of them he recognise from his own travels across the multi-universe, they were held together by massive metal plates held in place with bolts, everything was cover with a thin layer of ice but no wind was flowing, or at least he didn't feel it.

"Over here there's the entrance." His friend pointed at a small door on the side, where two Viking looking guards were waving people in. "Yes! Short line, good thing we came early," Tom said, but as they were standing on line Marco remembered something important.

"Crap, Tom I forgot to bring cash, I literally have nothing on me right now." He feared that this may blow away all the plans they made.

"Well it is the first time you accept to come here with me, so yeah I can cover for you tonight, no worries," He said with no worries on his voice. "Besides you look like you need a drink, I didn't really want to address the dress issue buuuut... any reason you are looking like a post-apocalyptic renegade now?"

Marco's face drop to show concern "Well you are, well, you, so I thought I will dressed as something more fitting, and this place is literally called Hel-A so I guess is my luck that I chose the right outfit." He then took a good look at his friend clothes "Besides you look like a drug dealer from a crappy PSA, what's up with that?"

Calmly Tom explain "Well this place is more of formal wear, so yeah the outfits match, but that was not my point, your usual hoodie was enough no be honest, why the drastic change?"

Marco felt taken back for his friend concern "Well, to be honest, I have had too much on my mind lately, so I just thought maybe a different look will take my mind off things"

Now Tom was now paying for the cover of the two of them and answer "Well, we can talk about it inside, I know it's me the one that calls you when in distress, so it's kind of nice to be on the other side, cmon let's find a table."

Inside the giant loghouse, everything was made from white beautiful wood, and millions of blue fire torches décor the inside giving light to the whole place. 

The ice was gone from all the surfaces, except the roof which looked like it was made completely out of a colossal ice block, and he could swear he say something or someone inside of it, but it was difficult to see it, the club was 3 stories high. Marco saw a huge dance floor at the center of everything. 

The floor in it was white marble and it seemed like a thousand people could dance on it at the same time, at the corner of the first floor where seats and booths, and at the far side of the door he just entered was this huge bar, he could not only see it from where he was standing, but he could see all the shelves filled with different kind of bottles. 

The second floor looked similar as the first one, but with more booths and terraces for both inside and outside, the third floor was the only one completely sealed off, with glass walls covering the outlines of the third floor.

"Hello? Hel-A to Marco, are you there bud?" Tom said annoyed at his friend stupid, lost in the distance, look.

"Ah sorry, this just felt like too much, let's find a booth or something."

"Ok whatever, but we go the second floor on this, we need to be watching the entrance."

They went up, and as they sat down, a slim armor clad figure appear to ask them "So what can I get you to drink boys?" What most surprised Marco was that feminine voice that came out of that figure.

"Wait, Tom, aren't we too young to drink?" He said worried that they might get thrown out even before he was expecting it. Tom was unimpressed, and just let the warrior lady speak.

"Oh boys, worry not here you are considered an adult at 14, warrior culture and all." She said with cheer in her voice "Ah, but we do have a two drink minimum."

Smoothly Tom said, "Two Trips-to-Midgard to begin with, trust me, Marco, I will not push you to drink more than you need, but it's a way to help you talk, and we have never had a drink together."

Marco was ready to protest, but mentally just said screw it, and said nothing, but he did wait for the waitress to walk away to begin questioning Tom "So what do you have? And why did it took you too much to gather the information? The list wasn't that long."

Almost annoyed at Marco's condescending tone "Well Marco, there are thousands of kingdoms in every dimension, and almost all of them have severals princes, and to top it off... wait, WHAT LIST?!!"

Shocked at Tom reaction he only said: "Star's parents gave her a list of suitors that were going to be on the waltz, there were like twenty names in total."

Tom could literally burn the whole place down with just his hatred, but was able to hold it together and just inhale and exhale slowly 

"Ok Marco, friend, bro, you told me to find information on almost thousand of people, and you never... thought... about... giving me a list... OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SURE TO GO THERE!!!" He was ready to burn everything, but suddenly two drinks materialize on the table.

The drinks were the same, lime green and kind of thick, but the weirdest part was the sparkles that the drink gave. Tom quickly calm down and began sipping from his glass, Marco was just examining his glass, totally perplexed at this new drink.

The demon boy said with total frankness "Marco, you made me lost my free time on a wild goose chase, and I'm paying for the drinks, could you stop looking at your glass and actually drink it."

Marco was almost intimidated from his friend, but he just took a breath and drank from his glass, it was strange, at first it was the taste of peppermint, but after it, it just a burning sensation on his throat.

"Ah! Tom, what the hell?! What is this thing?" Surprisingly he managed to keep it down.

"It's kind of one of the specials from this place, I really don't know what's in it, but I'm pretty sure the sparkle is fairy dust." The drink didn't felt so burning for himself, but it helped him to calm down a little "Anyway, just tell me, a Prince Durham was on the list?"

Marco still was trying to finish his drink, one sip at the time "Yes, yes I can be sure I say that name on the list."

Tom sighed in relief "Well nice because that's the prince that it's coming here today, he has half blonde and blue hair, but you won't need to look for him, I'm sure he would announce his own entrance the moment he gets here." The took another deep sip from his own drink "Besides it's still early, let's see what can we do for fun."

Tom then scope around the hole bar, till something caught his eye. "Well, Marco I think I found a way to pass the time." Said with eagerness in his voice.

Tom down his drink and excuse himself from the table making his way to the stairs, a few seconds later Marco saw him on the first floor approaching two people that were walking to the bar, he could see him talk to them and pointing at his direction. After Tom finished talking he made his back upstairs with the two figures walking beside him, and the saw the three of them walking up to their booth.

After some presentations, and some new orders for the table, Marco was held up between a banister and a dryad.

"And then, I burn the whole place to ashes, ahahahaha!!!" Tom finish his story, but the punchline failed to make his friend and the girl beside him laugh, the harpy girl to his left, however, was losing it.

"Hey, hey... what were your names again girls? Doesn't matter, we need another round of drinks, right Marco?"

"I drank the minimum already, I think I'm good, but what about you Feiya? Nina?" He said referring to the two girls that had join them at their table just a few minutes and a drink ago.

Besides the drinks Tom ordered where burning his throat, making him speak in a harsher voice.

"Pfft, c'mon Marco, I took you for a hard drinker for the way you finish that last drink" The harpy girl, Nina said.

The girls both looked on their teenage years, thought they were a bit older than the boys for a few years.

Nina was the shorter one of the two, a classic harpy creature, more on the humanoid side, both her hands and feets were uncovered and they weren't hands nor feet, more like bird claws with four fingers on each one of them. Her hair was a deep blue and spiked, she was able to pack her blue wings behind her back, wearing white short-shorts and a white and blue sleeveless checked shirt.

Feiya was the quieter of the two, but she wasn't shy at all, she openly spoke when questions were thrown her way, and spoke to Marco among themselves quite comfortably, anytime Tom and Nina got lost on whatever conversation the two of them were having. She looked like the usual seventeen-year-old girl, except for her green skin, some vines buried on her skin and at the end of them, leaves coming out of them. To top it off, she had long black hair and deep black solid eyes. Wearing a one piece dress made from green leaves, and a crown of flowers of different colors.

Marco wasn't uncomfortable with the drinking, the girls, or even for what his friend called 'flirting'. He may admit he was having a good time, but every time his mind wandered off, it arrived at a bad place that he wished he was able to escape from, he could swear he was sporting a permanent angry frown.

The whole club was almost to the roof since they arrived, the dance floor was full, the second floor had more people sitting on booths and the sound of the music was mixed with all the conversations of the people around them.

"Marco, give us one more drink trust me," Tom said trying to win over his friend judgment and reason.

"Yeah, Marco it looks like it could help you, what about a 'Valhalla's Calling'? Sour and sweet, not much alcohol in it." Feiya said looking to change Marco's mood.

"No, what we all need is a 'Second Circle' It should really put us in the mood," Nina said, clearly hinting at something to Tom.

Marco was about to shoot all the ideas down, but before he could Tom intervened "No gals, I know this guy, and what this guy need is a simple 'Honey Surprise' I promise is harmless I'll take one too, so don't worry." Before Marco could answer, the waitress in armor was already there with her notepad open.

"So if I heard correctly, it's two Honey Surprises, one Valhalla's Calling, and one Second Circle?"

The three of them look at Marco waiting for his response "Ok, yeah that's the right order." The rest of his table cheer loudly at his response.

"Fine, they will bring them to you in a moment." And off she went to the bar.

"Hey, guys I have to go to take a leak be right back."

"TMI Tom!" Marco said feign disgust.

Marco's 'date' spoke up afterward "So Marco, tell us something about yourself, you've been quieter than me this night." She let out a small chuckle, and then Nina elaborate more on the question "Yeah, we only know your name and that you from Earth" The boy had a light blush on his cheeks, but nevertheless he began speaking.

"Wel I'm a red belt in karate, it's a martial style on Earth, I'm a swordmaster, last week I won my own dimensional scissors from Hekapoo" he said, showing his scissors and the fiery letters spelling his name to the girls, the two of them almost gasp looking at the the scissors "And... that's all actually, I go on adventures across dimensions, but aside from that just a normal high schooler."

He just realized that the two girls had their jaws hanging at what he just said, it was Nina that broke the silence

"Are you for real!? I mean of course you are the scissors are proof enough, but are you just going to brush all that off like it's all a normal thing?"

"Let it be Nina, maybe this guy is just so cool that all his adventures don't even impress him anymore." Marco was taken by surprise, he was never the cool guy, especially for the girls, so he just gave them a puzzled look "Yes Marco, going on adventures across different dimensions and knowing how to fight is not the norm everywhere." Feiya responded.

"Guess the thrills wear off after a while." He said to the girls to which they could only be surprised at how cool Marco was playing it off.

They continue talking for a bit, but the conversation was mostly centered on Marco, his adventures, and Earth, after a few more minutes Tom returned to the table.

"So did you missed me gals?"

"A bit, but don't worry Marco was here," Nina said to tease Tom.

Tom redirected his response to Marco, with a sarcastic "Wow man, not cool, anyway, where are the drinks? They should be here already." he said as he seated down.

"Well is packed almost to the roof, give them a little more, I was just telling them how I won my new scissors"

"Oh yeah those, I wondered myself where you got them, I thought Star gave them to you."

Feiya said surprised for a second. "Wait, who is Sta..." Before she could finish, their drinks appear at the table, Marco looked at his and Tom's drinks, they were served on the standard in the rock glasses, they were three-quarters full, and they look like red fruit juice, kinda plain looking from the rest of the drinks at the table.

"Well Marco, bottoms up, yes you drink it in one go," Tom said to his friend trying to make him drink his glass.

"What's the surprise?" Marco said with his no-nonsense voice, which sounded extra intimidating thanks to his raspy voice.

Tom look like he was just caught in his lie, but he quickly covered himself up "Well Marco, if I tell you it will not be a surprise, hey let's make a deal we will drink it at the same time."

Marco thought about his friend's deal, still, something seemed off "Deal, but if this kills me, I swear it Tom I'll..."

"Cheers!" With that note Marco, just drank his cocktail in one go, Tom with a little of sleight of hand was able to make his friend think he really was going to drink it, he did not, he just put his lips on the glass and till his head slightly, but afterwards he lean forward to appreciate Marco's expression.

Marco quickly figured out the surprise of the 'Honey Surprise' it was that it tasted nothing like honey and everything like pain, a huge amount of pain that ran through his throat. He quickly realized he had put pure evil in his mouth and was able to reflect it on his face, he promptly threw his head backward and slowly jerked forward till his forehead hit the table.

Tom and Nina were losing it at the moment, just like the booths beside them a few bystanders passing by, even Feiya was lightly smiling at the boy beside him, Marco needed some time to piece himself back together before throwing his worst death glare towards Tom.

"TOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!" His scream only made his friend laugh harder.

"Sorry Marco, it's kind of a prank for newcomers, just don't drink anymore for the night if you don't want to, no pressure," Feiya said trying to calm Marco down at the same time that she stroke his back, she really felt sorry for finding his suffering funny.

Marco was able to calm down easily with the help of Feiya. For the next hour the four of them stay there talking about everything, well, Marco, just stayed quiet for most of the time, for the few times he talked it was clear that the surprise mess up his voice, even more, giving him a more deep, rasping voice, besides his angry scowl may as well stay for the rest of the night, Tom's little prank made sure of it, and to top it all off, the alcohol was being to take effect.

He wasn't that much of a mean drunk, he thought of himself more like a quiet drunk, the kind that immersed himself more on his own mind as the alcohol keeps coming, maybe that's why he doesn't like drinking.

After a while, Marco's gaze wander to the first floor where he looked at three teenagers around his age entering the log house, the guy in the middle quickly shouted out loud, and the whole music muffle it, he looked at that guy with more attention, he had blue and blond hair, and the three of them were dressed like 19th centuries generals, so he quickly catch Tom's attention.

"Hey Tom, look at the entrance, three guys dressed as army douches in white." Tom looked over Nina's shoulder and saw prince Durham, quickly he said to the girls.

"Girls, want to go down to the dance floor?"

"Yes, let's go I wanted to stretch the wings for a while now."

Nina downed her drink and shoot out of her seat with Tom to begin their way down. Marco needed a minute to get himself together before he could follow them.

"You can take your time, I still need to finish my drink, I don't want to leave mine like Tom." Marco looked at the table and realize Tom had left his own Honey Surprise on the table. He just thought 'screw it' and drank it all in one go, it didn't hit him as hard as the first one, it still tasted like pain, but he got used to it quickly.

"Wow Marco, I never heard of a guy that would drink that twice, ever in their lives."

Marco smiled at her comment "I just thought why not and did it. You really want to dance?"

"Nah, I have the moves of a tree, but let's get down anyway it's kinda boring up here." With that last note, both teenagers got up and followed their friends.

Once they arrived on the first floor, they were amazed at the number of creatures from across dimensions that litter the whole place at the moment, humanoids like Marco were a rarity on this club, still Marco didn't felt left out or awkward on this environment, and he had company with him so that helped him even more. On one last note, Marco found Tom with Nina on the dance floor.

"Well so much for having a plan." Marco thought he said it just quietly enough for the music to fade it away but 

"What did you said, Marco?" That took him by surprise '

"Nothing Feiya, but tell me what do you want to do?"

"Well, don't you want to talk with your friends?"

"My what now?"

"Those guys you told Tom about, you made it sound that you knew them."

"Well, I have just heard of one of them, is more that I wanted to talk to him." He didn't want to lie to the girl so he just hid some of the truth.

"Oh, cool nothing wrong with that, does it matter if I get a drink first?"

"I'll get it for you don't worry, just wait for me by the stairs ok?"

"Yeah thanks, Marco, just get me an ale, let's keep it simple." Before Marco walk away she put a friendly hand over his shoulder.

"I'll be right back."

Marco went to the bar, he noticed the small line of people waiting for their drinks, before him there he was, impressive Durham and his buddies, he was part of the reason he was there so he decided to listen closely to whatever they said.

He heard the tallest of the boys talking he sported a buzz cut and pale skin "So D, what gave you the idea to come here today?" Durham himself answered, "I told you we are celebrating, well I am, you two have the honor of coming with me." The third boy turn around and responded to Durham comment, he had long loose hair, so blonde it was almost white "You already said that twice, I mean I know you are paying, but could we at least had gone to a more classy place, they even let monsters in for crying out loud!"

Marco, flinched at that last comment from ultra-blond dude and throw his glare at him, blondie obviously notice this random guy jerking his head to meet his gaze, for him Marco looked like a normal humanoid, which in this place was not normal at all, to say the least, but his glare scared the boy a little, not helping that Marco was dressed like a road warrior, after this encounter the bartender waive the three boys in front of Marco, but blondie say quickly.

"Hey man, why don't you go in first... I don't know what to order yet." He said with a sheepish voice to and his two friends agree to let Marco go first thought they were puzzled as to why blondie throw that idea in the first place.

Marco passed between the boys and placed his order "Just a bottle of ale, please." As the bartender put the drink at the bar, Marco was pushed by a figure bulkier and taller than him, spilling the bottle all over the bar.

The figure was a lizard-folk, taller than Marco by about a head, green scales for skin, and as he noticed his sleeve wet by Marco's drink he shouted right at him. "Look a what you did scum! You are lucky I don't eat you alive!"

He was quickly shut down by Marco's arm locking him, which hit his face on the bar. "You need to shut up man, YOU spill my drink so YOU are going to pay for it and they buy me a new one."

The lizard men only nodded while taking some shining rocks from his money pouch, the bartender took them and place a new bottle of ale at the bar, Marco tighten his grip to drive his next statement home "Oh and you also cut in front of the line, so you are going to the very back after I let you go."

After saying that Marco throw the lizard men out of the line, with just enough force to make him stumble, he saw the creature walking away holding his arm, he wasn't worried about him anyway he just took his drink and walked away, not once did he drop his scowl.

Feiya was worried about the incident, she watched all of it from her spot near the stairs. "Are you ok man? You looked ready to kill someone after that."

"He deserved it, he did spill your drink after all," Marco said while handing her drink to his companion. "Besides, I know how to deal with bullies." The irritation on his mind was beginning to rise up, he thought about blowing this whole this place and go back home, but he couldn't leave Feiya like that.

"You sure teach him a lesson, don't think he will be pulling that off anytime soon." She began to drink from her bottle, but after the first sip they were joined by prince Durham and company, they all had drinks on their hands, but blondie was holding one extra drink.

"Hey there tough guy, we saw the way you dealt with that monster, so I decided to invite you a beer. I'm Prince Zarkos Durham by the way." he handed a bottle of the same kind of ale he brought for Feiya, which he accepted.

But again it was happening, Marco started to lose attention in the real world as Feiya's words caught up with him, did he really looked that scary over there? 

It reached to the point where he was just nodding and blindly answering to Durham conversation "These are my friends... and the tall one is... we come from... the mines... royal guard... useless servants... blah blah blah." Marco knew that he came here wanting to know about this guy but right now he really did not care for anything.

"Well now man, am I just really that boring or that drink is just so much interesting than me." That last comment woke Marco up from his trance but he was able to throw a quick response back.

"At least the drink puts me in a better mood." As soon as Marco said that, a response came from someone outside his group.

"Wow Marco, this place is already ice cold if you hadn't notice." The group saw a demon boy and a harpy next to them, both tired and sweating.

"Hey everybody, it's Tom and Nina, they are with us they were just dancing." Feiya introduced their friends. But that made Marco pay attention to her again, and when he did that, he quickly realized they were holding hands now. Maybe Feiya had, sneakily, taken his, or maybe he reached out for hers while on his thoughts, anyway it just surprised him, but didn't bother him.

"And here we have Prince Durham, and his two cronies, right? What have you been doing back home, anything interesting happening?" Tom began to, not very subtly, to be honest, questioning Durham, they hit if off well, maybe because both were princes and all, Nina moved beside Feiya, and Marco just put his now empty bottle aside.

"Wow, you are a fast drinker man," Blondie responded after he saw Marco putting his bottle down.

"Yes Marco, Feiya is not even half done with hers, for someone that says doesn't want to drink, you sure go through them fast," Nina said out loud.

Marco promise to himself not to drink anymore for the rest of the night, he wasn't having a bad time so he didn't need the alcohol, he was just letting himself go because of the atmosphere, and he had promised to get home early.

The Earth boy was in the middle of three conversations, the two princes on their side, blondie and tall guy flirting with Nina, and the girls sometimes talked among themselves in a lower tone as not to be heard.

Tom seemed lost on his conversation with Durham when suddenly he cut the other prince off "Sorry man give me a moment I was just dancing and I need a drink, hey Nina want to go with me to the bar?"

"Sure Tom, be right back Fey." She said goodbye to her friend as she began to walk away, leaving the prince and his friends to gather around Marco and Feiya.

"I'm sorry if Tom is holding up Nina all for himself, and If I'm boring you with my attitude." Marco was apologizing to Feiya for his mood.

"Don't worry Marco, I'm comfortable here with you so don't worry," Feiya answered sweetly, tightening her grasp on his hand, and rested her head on Marco's shoulders, all of this made the boy blush when suddenly she let loose of his hand. "But could you hold my drink while I go to the ladies room? Thanks." And off she went leaving Marco alone with the prince and his friends.

"Well you two are a nice couple, how long have you been together?" Blondie asked first.

"We are not dating... we actually just met today here." Marco had no reason to lie about it, but he did get surprised by the assumption.

The tall one gave his piece of mind "Wow you intimidate a monster, drink like a pro, and even have a sexy dryad crazy just by knowing her less than a day, respect man."

"Yes impressive Marco, but not as impresive as the girl I'll be getting next week." Prince Durham said with confidence and arrogance while pulling out his own pocket magic mirror, and showed something to the boys. The mirror passed from boy to boy till it arrived at Marco's hands, he was surprised as to what he was seeing, or more like who he was seeing.

It was a picture of his best friend Star Butterfly, only that in the picture he was looking at, she was dressed in a royal dress, he wasn't able to hide his surprise.

"Yeah even the cool dude is impressed, well obviously Star Butterfly is quite the catch, and I'll be getting all of that for sure by the end of the week." Durham was just sounding soo confident that this was a fact.

"Is this the reason that you are celebrating?" Blondie questioned. "What's the meaning of this and all?"

"Yes, you see this girl is going to have a waltz, and she invited a crap ton of princes from across dimensions and at the end of the night, she is going to choose one of them to be her husband." Marco was cool till the prince imply that this was Star's idea like she wanted to go through all of this.

"And if all of the princes are the same as the ones I know received an invitation. The girl is going to choose me for sure, so basically you are looking at the new King of Mewni right now."

Marco lost no time trying to burst his bubble. "But a ton of princes are going too, what makes you so sure you will get chosen? Do you even know the girl?"

"Never seen her in my entire life, but I have heard of her, she is the kind of gal that goes wild for everything, you know the type, she wants to get back at her parents for oppressing her, but really is a spoiled brat to the core." All of them started to laugh, except Marco which was already picking the dimension to hide the corpses.

"So put on top of that my dashing looks and charming personality, besides I already picked a gift for the night, that girl is gonna beg me to marry me at the end of the night."

"Yeah Star heard she went out with a demon for some time, maybe she into the kinky, yeah that crown may already be in your head already." The tall friend said agreeing to what Durham had said.

"But cmon guys, you really think she wants to go through all that?" Marco was showing soo much self-control to not burst into an angry shouting match right there.

"Well, probably she just wants to make her parents angry or something, besides the royal lifestyle is like this Marco, the sooner she gets that idea inside of her thick head the better."

Marco was just done with these guys, he was about to excuse himself and go find Tom so that they could get out of here. "So guys, I need to go find Tom, see you around."

"Before you go, Marco, can you please punch some sense into me and my pals, you don't even need to hold back we are huge pieces of crap." Yes, Durham did not really say that, but that was what Marco understood for whatever they really said, he could just have walked away but he wasn't thinking anymore.

"Hey, Durham hold my beer." Marco handed it to the prince.

"Oh yes, don't wo..." That strong right that Marco throw at Durham was enough to down him, and even gave him a cut on the forehead.

"The hell is wrong with..." Marco lost no time punching Blondie in the stomach with an uppercut to follow, but out of his line of side, the last friend broke a bottle on his left temple, which instantly downed him, with was bad because the other two guys had already recovered his senses and surrounded him.

"You made a big mistake pal!" The three of them lost no time stomping and kicking him on the ground.

Marco didn't really felt the pain but was finding it difficulties standing up, till he grabbed an incoming kick that was coming for his side and twists it. After tall guy felt forward, Marco banged it's head on the floor so hard that it bounced.

Blondie was shocked at seeing that brutal move and decided to look for security, which left Durham alone with Marco, which missed no time grappling him on the ground.

"Not so talkative now prince." Marco began wailing on him, just punch after punch, Marco said only red by this moment and had silence every noise outside of that of his fists hitting the guys face.

Something fell on his eyes and suddenly felt like being restrained and pull back on his feet. The whole ambient noise that rang on his ears were gone by now, he could finally hear the lack of music, and the voices of the ones gathered around him.

"Marco! It's done man he is down calm down, calm down." He could hear Tom talking him down, but he noticed that he was a few steps away from him, the person that restrained him and pulled him back was Feiya herself, she had summoned a bunch of vines form her fingertips when the two of them lock eyes she said 

"Marco stop, you are scaring me."

Marco began to calm down, those words echo in his mind, he cleaned his face with the sleeve of his jacket and looked at it, it was blood. He then looked up and saw that the whole floor was looking at him, some scared, some filming it, others just disappointed that the fight was stopped. And finally, he looked down at the prince he just punched unconscious a broken nose, two black eyes and some cuts on his face.

Just out of the corner of his eyes he saw blondie coming with security "Sorry guys, I think I should go." Marco broke off from the vines and ran out before security got there. "Marco wait!" Feiya screamed and ran behind the boy.

Tom, was worried about his friend but before he could get out he needed to take care of something "I need to go pay the bill, why don't you go after them?" Nina quickly answered, "No I'll go with you, just don't leave me alone." She took Tom's arm, she was also shocked at what she saw, she just didn't want to be alone.

Outside, Marco ran till he saw no more people around, stopping to take some air and clear his mind. The fight drained all the strength from his body and he was shaking. "Crap, crap, crap, I messed up like always, what was I even thinking aaaaaaaaaargh!!!!" He could only yell at his own actions, he decided that it was best to call it a night and began pulling his scissors out.

But he stopped when he heard a female voice "Marco! There you are" Feiya closed in on the boy and gave him a concerned look. "What... what happened there Marco, I was coming back from the bathroom and say you hitting that guy, what did they do to you?"

"They were bad mouthing a friend of mine and I just lost it, hell I don't think I remember what they said, I'm... sorry for scaring you, and ruining your night, I'm leaving already so you won't need to see me anymore." His voice already went back to his normal voice.

"Dude you can't just go away like that, what about Tom? I'm sure he is going to be worried, I'm worried about you too you know." Feiya said with a sad smile and concern tone. "Look we are already out of there, let's wait for Nina and Tom here, and then we can see what to do next." The fear that Feiya had before had almost disappeared already, she really warmed up to this human on the lapse of those few hours.

Already with a more level head he was more opened to the idea, but then he looked at his hands. "Ok I'd like that but, do you have any water? I need to wash my hands."

The dryad thought he sounded cute and chuckle but then said. "I can create a spray of water from my fingertips, come here I'll clean them for you." The two sat down on the ground, Marco gave his hands to Feiya and she began to clean them with the stream of water that came from her fingers, while she was doing that he began to feel his hands sting, and upon closer inspection, he realise he had cut his knuckles, in fact, his whole body was hurting now, his face, ribs, and stomach, and he wasn't afraid to show it.

The girl beside him notice his hurting expression and felt sorry for him, she also noticed that he was bleeding from a cut on the side of his head and another one from his right cheek, suddenly she had an idea.

"Hey Marco, lean forward a little." As he did that, she began caressing his face at the same time that she cleaned it. "Your face is so dirty dude, don't worry it will only take a second." Just as she said that sentence she noticed a blush forming on the guy face, she laugh but also notice how handsome the boy was, and how cute his eyes were, she didn't even notice how much time she spent looking at his eyes.

Marco was blushing so hard and felt so hot that he feared he may pass out. "Hey Tom, here they are!" Both of the teenagers were shocked and separated themselves, a few moments later they were met with their friends.

"Oh but it looks like we ruined their moment, sorry Marco," Tom said teasing his friend, but he was still worried from his friend.

"Hey guys, sorry I got into a fight and ruined the night."

"Hey don't worry man, having listened to that much of the douche words I can tell you, no one is sad that you punch him... but maybe you got a little out of hand." 

Nina gave his piece of mind. "Sooooo... what do we do now?"

"What do you think Marco, how do you feel?" Tom question his friend with a serious face.

"I just want to go home now, sorry guys, you can still party on, just, I think I should call it a night."

"No, I think I should call it a night too." Feiya said with a sympathetic tone towards Marco "Just, could you take me home Marco?" Marco thought it was weird that she asked him that, but he had already too much on his mind that he just said: "Sure, I'll take you all home if you want."

"Thank you Marco, but I already promise Nina that I will take her home." As he said that a black carriage came out of a fire portal. "But man, I'll talk to you later, but now just have some fun."

"Feiya, sorry I know it's so sudden, but I'll see you tomorrow ok?" Nina apologize for blowing Feiya off like that "Sure Nina, but you too have a good night, and yes you can come visit me tomorrow." The two girls hugged and said their goodbyes, next thing Nina got inside Tom's carriage and off they went.

Inside of the carriage, Tom was still concerned "Hey you think Marco seemed alright, maybe we should not leave them alone." To which his now date answer "Don't worry, your friend looks like he can take care of himself, and Feiya just loves bad boys with hearts of gold like him."

Tom processed that comment and laugh out loud, but he really didn't know what was funnier, the fact that Marco was able to act all night like a bad boy without even trying, that both the girls bought it all, or that this whole act was about to get him laid tonight.

"What's so funny Tom? Was it something I said?" Nina was puzzled as to what cause that spontaneous burst of laughter, but from his side, that was exactly what Tom needed to pass the nerves he was feeling, but Nina brushed all off after seeing how calm Tom looked after he finished 

"Forget it, really I just liked seeing you better. You know... Feiya may like bad boys, but I'm really into funny sensitive guys like you." She said flirtatiously towards the demon boy.

"Yep, that's me, totally, all about feelings and stuff." Well, the rest of the night might end fine for Tom.

Back to Marco and Feiya, the two of them were already at Feiya's grove.

"So you live nearby the Great Tree, no houses at all?" Marco was trying to make small talk in order to keep himself busy.

"Yes, we stand nearby it in order to get our magical energy, if we get cold we burrow ourselves on our vines and wait it out."

"Well lucky you are not having cold weather now." Marco didn't know why his comment made Feiya blush and look away, but just a few seconds later they arrived at the Great Tree, the grove was bathed in moonlight and a little stream surrounded the tree.

"Well, here we are heh heh... You want some of the water, it will help you with the pain." Marco nodded and both teenagers sat beside the stream, Feiya took some of the water with her hands and got them closed to Marco so that he could drink.

"Wow, that's really nice water, thanks for helping me with everything, I really appreciated." They lock eyes just the same like earlier that night, just this time Feiya lost no time and kissed Marco on the mouth.

Marco was taken by surprise, but started kissing her back, just as Feiya began to kiss him deeper and deeper, Marco pushed her back, he felt wrong doing all of this and he needed to tell her, he didn't want to hurt her.

"I... I can't do this sorry." He looked at her in the eyes, she had this face of sad betrayal, he felt really awkward at the situation and suddenly sadden at the sight of her face, she was clearly heartbroken but so obviously trying to hide it.

"Sorry, I forgot you have a girlfriend." That comment surprise Marco, but he needed, to be honest with her.

"No, It's just..." He suddenly was interrupted.

"No Marco, I don't want you to feel sorry for me, I knew that you had a girlfriend but still, I was so stupid and kissed you, I even asked you to take me home... how stupid is that?" She began to tear at this moment.

"No, listen to me! I don't have a girlfriend but... I don't know" What was it, why he couldn't he just enjoy his night with a beautiful girl.

"Then what is it, Marco? All this night you've been acting weird and what you did to those guys, you beat them up for bad mouthing your girlfriend isn't? I heard it from some people at the club."

Why did he lose control so easily back at the club? Why did he really been so down and sad this whole week, he knew all of this was connected.

"What's your deal, what happened back there, what happened right now?"

He suddenly stopped thinking and just felt the reason for his mood. "You are half right, about what happened with those guys, they were badmouthing a girl I know, she isn't my girlfriend, but she is my best friend, I was just about to walk away but..." He felt so angry at himself for what happened back there.

This was the part of the story when he lost control, so he had trouble remembering the exact words that trigger him. "Suddenly one of them say that he should take her to bed, and if I was good with him he may send me photos of the night." While hearing this Feiya was regaining her composure and stopped crying, it suddenly clicked for her, but she let Marco vented up.

"And my deal is... my deal is..." Marco was not surprised by the answer that came to his mind, maybe he already knew it and was just in denial, but now was the time to recognize it.

"My deal is that I'm in love with my best friend, I'm in love with Star Butterfly and I'll just feel awful being here and enjoying myself." He himself began to tear at the realization that flooded his mind.

Star was the reason that he came back from the other dimension, but also why he wanted to stay there in the first place, he could never see the love of his life marry another guy, especially like that and with him unable to do something. He was just so frustrated that all he could do was cry.

Between the sobbing and heavy breathing, he didn't notice that he was being hugged by his companion.

"Sorry I push you to this point, just let it all out is all right..." Marco didn't hug back, but felt better knowing he wasn't alone "But if you could keep it down a bit, you are going to wake all the other dryads." Both laugh at that comment, Marco was able to calm down enough to hear his companion talk.

"Wow man, this girl sounds amazing if someone like you is so head over heels for her, I'm assuming that you haven't told her?" Marco nodded, and both of them broke the hug.

"Marco, you can't let that kind of feeling inside, they'll just eat you up, but also you can't just revolve your whole time and mind to them, they could drive you crazy." The boy was now gaining some new clarity on his situation.

"So basically, keep my chill and confess when I'm ready?"

"That's right, you are now aware of your feelings, which is good, it can give you some clarity. I don't know what kind of problem you two are going through, but I know you will find a way to help her. That Star girl is lucky to have you."

The atmosphere no longer felt awkward anymore, the conversation did help him take that huge boulder on his shoulders down. He felt ready to take things easy with his friends and keep a clear head, there had to be a way to help Star, hell maybe he would not need to do anything, Star had a legit chance to get out of this by herself. But now he needed to set things right with his companion.

"Hey, I'm sorry for pushing you before and scaring you at the bar. For all accounts, I really think you are beautiful and awesome."

Feiya had a light blush on her face "No worries, you know I took you for a bad boy since I saw you first at the club, but now I know that was a lie..." Marco cringe, he didn't want his reputation as a safe boy to spread beyond school.

"But you are a sweet guy, you know, the kind of boy that could get any girl he wants, but would do anything for the one he loves." Marco laughed at her comment and then blushed at how Feiya was looking at him, a playful smile.

"C'mon Marco let's dive on the stream a bit" Marco was not sure what to do right now, he wasn't feeling guilty like before, and he did say he would chill for a while but... "Stop thinking about it dude, you are still hurt anyway, cool off for a bit, It will help your wounds."

Marco decided to not think about it and just follow Feiya's lead to the magic stream, right now he was only worried about not getting home too late.

It was just over 12:05 am Friday of the third week. Just 8 more days till the Bachelor Waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all like it, had to tie together a bunch of ideas I thought might happen when Marco and Tom go to a club in another dimension. From the start, I always thought of this fanfic as a Marco story, even more than Star's story. Drunk Marco was inspired by a friend I had that became really scary as the drinks kept coming.


	6. A sick friend.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains my own headcannon, on the relationship that Marco had with Hekapoo, so she will appear a lot and I hope to nail her character if any of this did happen.

Just after Marco had left his house on Earth to hang out with Tom, one Star Butterfly was concerned about the conversation that the boys had before, and out of concern for her best friend, she decided to call the girls and have them gathered at Janna's place to have a talk.

An hour after Marco's departure, Star was sitting at Janna's room surrounded by her friends from school, but Pony Head was running late.

"Well Star, what's going on?" Starfan said with a worried look

"Are you ok, did something happened to you?" Jackie was thinking the worse of this sudden call.

"And why did it had to be in my house?" Janna smirk at her own smugness.

Star trying to calm her friends answer in quick succession "Ok in that order, I have something to talk to you about, nothing bad happened to me, and Marco's parents are having another couple over and I didn't want to bother them." She thought for a moment and said: "Screw it, I can tell Pony Head later, look..."

The princess lost no time telling the girls about what happen to Marco last Sunday, she explained all the information that she knew about, she told them that's why Marco been so weird as of late, and finally she mentioned Tom's comment she heard earlier.

The girls were surprised at what happened with Marco, they could never believe it if it wasn't for the fact that Star said all of this with her serious face, all of them were silent till the host spoke up

"Wait so he had a rad dragon cycle, where is that thing? I want a ride on it too!" the rest of them were unsurprised about Janna's reaction, but she wasn't finished, believe it or not, she actually care for her friend "Well the whole challenge by that girl we get it, but what does it have to do with the other thing with demon boy?"

"Well, the thing is that... how do I say this?" Star was missing words to describe the correlation between those two pieces of information, why did she even thought the two of them were related, to begin with?

Jackie made a guess with the heart, but it wasn't completed "Could it be that you are afraid of why he wants to know about the princes, and what he is planning to do because..." She began to struggle for ideas there.

Immediately Starfan gave the last piece to connect both thoughts "Because you think the Marco that came back is totally different from the one that left?" Yes! She had it, she connected both elements and felt so proud of herself "AND! It worries you that Marco will end hurt or that something worst happens right?" She began to felt bad at being happy for pinpointing what was troubling Star, especially for how sad Star began to look.

Well, Star wanted the girls to help get some clarity and now she had it, but maybe she wished she never found out the truth. But she was with the girls right now and she wasn't about to keep those feelings locked up.

"Yes, it's truth, ever since Marco came back I have been scared that he isn't the same boy that I remember," she said hugging her knees close to her chest. "And I fear that if this really is a new Marco, I don't know what he is thinking anymore."

Jackie was both happy, for Star's decision to open to them about her problems, and concerned about her statement, could it really be true that the boy she has seen at school only looked like Marco, but it wasn't him?

"Well Star, tell me something, have you had the feeling that Marco doesn't see you as a friend like before?" All the girls saw her with doubts looks all over.

"Listen, the truth is that Marco never had lots of friends or even some deep friendships, I myself didn't even know he had a crush on me and hadn't really got to know him well after all that, Janna, you like to tease him saying the two are just playing but don't deny that you know nothing about the guy, Starfan that's obvious, hell I think Ferguson and Alfonzo were the ones that started hanging out with him, and hadn't been affected since they stopped."

Starfan said defensively in response "Oh yeah, you just said you don't know him as well, how are you so sure about this eh?"

"I notice thinks ok, believe or not I'm more observant around school than the cool girl attitude gives off, still that isn't the point I'm going for so listen..." She rushed to her point to keep everything clear.

"The thing is, and all of us can testify for this, Marco never had a real best friend before you came to his life, not even other exchange students were half as close to him as you. I'm sure that if he changes so much that he isn't the same person, you will know for sure."

Star began to smile still not looking at her friends "Right? We do everything together, I didn't know what to think about him, but after all of our adventures and time together..." she blush a little thinking about her next sentence "I can't imagine my life without him, I really do..."

Starfan loudly gasped at the thought of all of her fanfics that were about to became reality "Appreciate him, as a friend, my best friend, don't go getting ideas" Starfan deflated instantly.

Jackie chuckle at the whole reaction and Janna was just trying not to get moved by Star words, but suddenly a portal opened in her room, to which a Princess Flying Pony Head came out of it carrying several boxes of documents with her.

"Hay girls! Sorry for the tardiness I was just gathering all the information I had recollected for you B-fly"

Star suddenly spoke up"No Pony Head, I should have never asked you to do that in the first place." she said embarrassed about this whole situation.

"Oh cmon B-fly, I lost a whole week of my free time collecting all this info, I call every favor I owned, a leprechaun almost put a curse me, all for you girl" She began to give her some big puppy dog eyes, Star herself was touched my her friend determination but her will didn't wave, but this whole was too juicy to let it pass.

"Well Star, it doesn't hurt to get a better look at these guys, aren't you going to meet them soon, this early, we can at least look at some of these files." Janna was almost begging to look into what Pony Head brought home.

"Hey Star we don't need to do it if you don't want you kn..." Star quickly question her 

"Be honest, should I do it?" to which Jackie answer 

"Yes, if only to avoid unwanted surprises" Jackie felt guilty, yes she did felt curiosity, but she also felt that Star needed to get into the mindset of having to choose a husband.

Star gave a questioning look to Starfan, just to hear her opinion "Hey Star, let's just do this at get it over, don't you think?"

Star felt like smirking at her friends need for gossip, and she thought why not? It will take her mind off Marco, and maybe she could find something interesting.

"Ah, ok Pony Head have it your way, let's judge the hell out of these boys ladies!"

Janna said with eagerness "I'm gonna get us something to drink, this is going to take us all night."

Another hour passed and the room was filled with laughter, the girls were just having a good time, talking about everything that poped into their minds, either about boys, secrets or their own little things each one of them enjoyed.

"Oh Janna, you even have a pink princess dress!" Starfan said after rumbling away on their host closet "Please Janna just try it out for us, we need to see you on this thing." She begged her friend with the biggest smiled she was capable of portraying.

Janna's common sense and character scream at her not to do it but then again she was between friends "Sure, but this stay among us, I'm serious, you all need to promised!" Without a word, all the girls put their hands over their hearts as a sign of promise, and all of them looked over Pony Head.

"Yeah I can't do it like them, but you can trust me, girl, also I bet you looked cute on that thing." Janna didn't mind the tease.

"Ok well just give me a moment, this thing is old and I need time to get in it." With that, she excused herself to the bathroom.

"So Star we been through all the names, any winners?" Jackie asked smiling but concern on the inside.

Star wasn't bothered about the question, especially because she was too confused looking at Pony Head's notes. "Maybe? I don't know, Pony Head what the hell is all of this?" Pony Head felt offended at that comment.

"What do you mean B-fly, I wasted so much time gathering all of this information for you, just tell me what's wrong with it?"

"Where to start? Well first of all thanks for the photos, that really helps us here they might be the only good thing you have here. But the notes Pony. Some of them are super detailed on things that don't even matter." She said picking a random piece of paper and imitating Pony Head's voice.

"Oh no girl, that turd is eating his rice with a spoon, can you believe it, a spoon, he probably drinks while extending his stupid pinky finger in the air like a total royal pain in the behind. He does smell good, does Star likes that? She always smells like..." she suddenly stopped there feeling that she had already driven her point home.

"And it just goes on and on with this kind of comments, and the other reports are just some random little details some of them not even connected with the guys. What were you thinking, were you just typing anything that came to mind."

Pony Head said blatantly "Well yes, B-fly how else do you think I could take those notes and shadow the guys at the same time." The girls just stare at her in confusion "It's a little app of my magic mirror that connects with my headphones, they pick up the signal of my thoughts and transcribe them to text directly to the mirror."

"So you literally just write, whatever came to mind," Jackie said face palming. "Like Star said the only thing that could help us are the pictures, and I'm not going to ask how you got some of them, but that's all we have." She looked at several of the pictures taken on secret and shadowy. "The only thing we could do is judge them by looks alone like some bubble headed valley girls." After she said that Star interfered.

"Ugh, so the information is useless, I'm worried to death about Marco, eh who am I kidding, he probably is having more fun than us right now. Nothing could cheer me up right now!" She said deflated and angry at the uselessness of all of this.

"Ok girls, I'm ready, what do you think?" Janna said as she entered the room, she had the cliché ballroom dress, it obvious that she put the thing on a rush and that it was a size too small for her, but still with the ragged looks, she looked cute, also she still had the beanie on.

The silence felt in the room, Janna's blush just grew redder and redder by the second, she wasn't used to be the center of attention, on top of that she was wearing that stupid old dress but on the inside, but at the end, she did felt pretty on that dress.

Star was the first one to start the laughter, and after she began everybody else followed on, and on, and on, and on. It was all in good fun, the laughter was not directed at her friend, but the image that her friend portrayed on this unusual outfit, Janna took a moment to react but none the least she also followed her friends actions, she laughed so hard that she fall on the floor.

After the whole thing died out it was Starfan that began commenting on the outfit. "Janna you sure look like a princess right now, but what about the beanie, couldn't you leave it out?"

"What? No! That is the thing that ties the outfit together it gives you personality Janna." Jackie defended the beanie look with all her heart.

Janna was just taking all the banter laying on the ground, just resting her head on Star's legs. "You look, nice girl, you rock the princess-that-just-go-out-from-work look, believe me, few people can do that."

They all laugh again at Pony Head's comment, Star was having so much fun that she didn't think her next sentence. "Yes, you may look better than Princess Marco." She quickly grasped and cover her mouth with her hands, praying that nobody heard that.

"Princess Marco!?" Damn. All of the Earth girls shouted in unison, Star just kept her mouth shut as to not let out more information about her friend, but then she wasn't the only one that knew about Princess Marco's antics.

"Oh yey, this one time Star had that Marco boy..." Star was hysterical trying to signal Pony Head to shut up or even to distract the other girls from her words.

"Dressed up as a princess to help me out..." Star quickly try to get everybody's attention. "Hey everybody a portal to the nether dimension just opened!" No reaction.

"He was rocking that purple ball dress and ponytail..." Ok, lets try again "Girls a bunch of eldrich creatures came out from the portal and are threatening to devour the Earth!" How does Marco on a dress demand so much attention?

"Look I could describe you how he looked back then, but why waste time if I just could just show you the pictures?" Pony Head began to pull her pocket mirror out and the rest of the girls congregate around her, Star had one last thing to try, but she was desperate right now. "Girls we are in luck, the creatures are saying that if we pay attention to what they have to say the will leave us alone and... screw it I messed up." She said defeated.

Princess Janna was shocked at the photos of her friend "Oh my god, Marco looks like a real Princess here, pass the pictures these are worth gold."

Starfan and Jackie were holding the pocket mirror and were impressed at their friend, Janna was right, this was gold, Marco would never live this down, but suddenly Star took the mirror out of their hands.

"No Janna, you would never have these pictures, Pony Head shame on you, he helped you and now you are mocking him in front of his closest friends." She scolded her friends while she frantically erased all of his pictures from Pony Head's mirror. "Please, could you not say any of this to Marco, I promise never to tell anyone about it, please?" She directed her troubled gaze towards everybody in the room.

"C'mon Star you don't have to worry about it, Starfan and I we will never say anything." Jackie and Starfan nodded to calm Star down.

"Ok girl, but be careful with the mirror you're gonna break it." Star handed the mirror back to Pony Head and lastly thrown an angry look towards Janna. "Ok, Star I promise not to mention it, to anybody else." Of course, she smiled after that, she could never resist a chance to tease on Marco.

Everybody sat back down surrounding the documents Star and Jackie were looking at before, but suddenly Princess Janna brought this down.

"Hey Star, is Marco dating anyone right now?"

Again the room felt in silence, and Princess Janna had the attention of everybody one more time."What are you looking at? I've been single for too long, so I thought why not give it a chance with the safe kid?"

As she finished, they all look at Star. "What? I don't know, how are you so sure he will say yes?" she said out loud and crossed her arms.

"Oh cmon Star, we are helping you judge all these guys, help a sister out, at least tell me if he ever talked about another girl." She was unusually curious about the new topic, but so the rest of the girls.

"Pfft, yeah right, as if the Earth Turd could nail a girl by himself."

"Well, I would probably go out with him, if he asked, and only if Star promise to be there" Ok, Starfan didn't realize her comment was creepy as hell, but she was not lying.

"Mmm, no comment right here, I'll only say, he is not half bad himself" Jackie kept her cool.

"Well Janna, no he isn't dating right now, but exes? Maybe mmmm..." Star was juggling memories on her head. "I can only think on Hekapoo, but he never said something concrete, so I couldn't say for sure."

All the girls were confused at that name, none of them knew who that girl was. All of them except Pony Head, which pretty sure just forgot to breathe, which she quickly compensated by inhaling deep and loudly.

After that, she screamed "WHAT?! Are you sure B-fly? What did he say? What did SHE say? Star this is the gossip of the century!"

"Pony, Pony, calm down, I know nothing about what they did or didn't do back there... alone... just the two of them... for sixteen years." Star had a huge face of realization dawning on her face, she began to quickly stitch everything together.

"Oh God, that's what's been happening to him, girls..." Everybody just looked at Star with a confused expression on their faces, so she elaborated. "Marco and Hekapoo, they were a thing, maybe they were in love, and I force them apart." They all began to think about the possibility of Star's theory.

"Yes is all clear now, he misses her, Marco only came back because of me, I ruined their relationship, I'm sure that Marco hates me for it." Star began to cry at the thought of separating her best friend from his girlfriend.

Jackie rushed to Star side consoling her. "No Star, you don't know that, you don't know if they were together or what kind of relationship they had." Starfan got onto Star other side trying to help. "Yeah, and if they were truly an item, they couldn't have had a good relationship if he came back." She could have phrased that better.

"But, it all fits, he has been down all the time he probably hasn't talked since he came back, and I really thought that was the best for him." Star tears were beginning to flow faster.

"Star you can't possibly blame yourself even if it's true, you don't even know that Somethingpoo girl, hell it's not that we could just pop in front of her and ask about it." Princess Janna made a clear point, there was no need for Star to punish herself for a topic she would never have all the answers...

Suddenly the sound of scissors cutting through the thread, it was Pony Head that just opened a dimensional portal "What? It was your idea Janna, I'm just following it."

"No! It wasn't an idea, and even if it was, it's a terrible idea, what are we even going to say to her?" Princess Janna panic at this thing, even she knew how bad this whole thing could go.

Starfan suddenly joined Pony Head beside the portal "Hello we are friends of Marco, we are worried about him and maybe you could help?"

Jackie groaned at this idea, she wasn't sure if this would help, but she knew it was a bad idea "No Star, this isn't good, we can just show up onto this girls home like some crazy stalkers. I mean right?" She half smiled awkwardly at Star.

"Look y'all, I kinda know Hekapoo, well I know of her, so it's not totally a death sentence to go with her, besides Star needs some answers." Pony Head was almost begging them to follow her lead, and she had some help with this from Starfan.

"Yes Star, think of Marco, we may be able to help fix whatever happened between them, do it for him and his happiness." That may have been the best thing to convince Star to change her mind, till "Besides, I've always dreamed of going on an adventure with you, and this is the perfect time for that."

Pony Head would face palm if she was able to do it, instead, she just answered to Starfan. "Real smooth girl, you had it and then lose it."

Jackie got up and began talking to the two girls beside the portal, trying to change their minds. "Look I know you are trying to help, but..." She suddenly was cut off by Pony Head.

"Yes I'm trying, but you earth turds are just messing with my ideas everytime I try, I have known Star way before any of you so I'm pretty sure..." Again an interruption, this time from Princess Janna.

"Hell what brought that up, you are going crazy horse head, we clearly know best about this situation."

The four girls began to argue about what to do, Star was just immersed in her own thoughts trying to come out with an answer. With all the girls busy arguing or on their own minds, nobody notice that an extra girl had joined the room till she spoke up.

"Hey what the hell is going on here, don't just leave open portals into people homes, is not only rude but totally bothersome." Star instantly recognize that it was Hekapoo that just crossed the portal so she called her attention.

"Hekapoo!!!"

"Oh, it's you the Butterfly girl, where's Marco?" She asked looking around the tiny room. But it was Pony Head that answered

"He isn't here right now, but you are and we need to ask you some very important questions about him." She lost no time explaining the reason she was summoned.

"Wait, what? Who are you all?" Hekapoo could only say confused. "You now what I don't have time for this, don't ever dare to bother me again"

Star suddenly realize that this was the only chance she had to maybe help Marco, or ruined whatever relationship the two of them had for good, but she was going to take the risk. "Hekapoo please, let me explain it to you don't go."

Princess Star got lucky and Hekapoo gave her all the attention she could muster at the moment, Star explained how Marco has been all the week, how worried she was for her friend, but had to take a deep breath when she decided to ask the greatest question that was troubling her mind.

"Just, what kind of relationship did you two had back there?"

Hekapoo looked at the troubled teenager, then at the rest of the girls that also had troubled looks on their faces, she thought for a moment if this was the right decision before saying.

"Ok, gals I'll talk, but two things first, we go to my house, more private there." As she said this she crossed to the other side of the portal after all of the room exchanged a few looks they all enter the portal into Hekapoo's hut/workshop.

"Wow this place is so dark and broody, I wish this was my house."

"Thanks... eh... human... girl? Ok, tell me your names now."

"Oh sorry, I skipped on that back there..." After clearing her throat Star began "You may already know Princess Pony Head, then there's my cool friend Jacke Lynn Thomas." Jackie smiled and waved at Hekapoo.

"The girl on the glasses if my #1 fan and funny friend, Starfan" Starfan only felt joy at being introduced as a friend to Star. "And lastly but not least, Princess Janna, she is the bad girl of the group." Princess Janna herself just realize she was still wearing her pink dress but she still found it hilarious in its own way.

"Well I'm Hekapoo, forger of scissors, welcome to my home, oh and this girl..." As she signals to one side of the room, a rad dragon cycle wokeup from her own corner and ran to her friend and new master. "Is Nachos, and she is the best dragon cycle on all of the dimensions, yes she is, yes she is." She said while scratching Nachos behind her ears and on her chin.

Princess Janna found herself lost for words after seeing the most rad thing she has ever seen in her entire life. "No Janna remember what are we here for, you can play with Nachos later," Jacke said trying to restrain her friend and to get her to remember the whole point of being here.

"Well yes good thing you remember, so what do you want to know exactly?" Hekapoo sat down on her couch, signaling the other girls to sit down near her, and with Nachos resting on her head on Hekapoo's lap.

"Ok Hekapoo, this may sound a little too intrusive, so you can totally tell us if you ever feel uncomfortable while we are asking you about..."

"Did you and Marco were dating before he came back?" Pony Head pushed the question without a rodeo.

"How deep was your relationship with him?" Starfan followed.

"What does Nachos eat anyway?" Maybe a little off topic but this was an important question for Princess Janna right now.

Jackie was the only one that saw Star getting more and more uncomfortable, or maybe embarrassed to be asking all of this. "Hey, maybe this was a bad idea after all don't you think Sta..."

"No it's fine girls, but now here comes my second condition. None of you can ever tell Marco what I tell you tonight." Hekapoo was looking at the girls with a stern face, she was not taking no for an answer on this.

"We all promise..." It was a surprise to all that Star said this, she had the answers that she wanted at the tip of her fingers, and she wasn't going to lose them. "Marco will never know about tonight I swear, we all do, but no lies, and no holding back."

"Of course, I never lie, ok so first of all, Nachos only eats meat, no matter the kind but her favorite food is fire rats." She then smiled at the look she was getting from Star.

"Hekapoo! This is serious, please." Hekapoo laughed at Star's reaction, but then clear her throat.

"Ok, real talk now. Yes, we were dating for some years, but don't worry we broke up waaaay before you came back for him." Star felt relieved, but her curiosity began to rise, also all of the girls also began to close on Hekapoo to hear better, they knew the next question she was going to answer.

"And, you see... well this is kind of harder than I expected heh heh..." She laughed awkwardly but quickly regained her composure.

"You see it was year ten, and we were already in the second year of our relationship. We had an agreement that we would meet in person at special dates, this time it was our anniversary so we went to the night dimension." She saw some puzzled looks from some of the girls, but Star explained.

"The night dimension is where billions and billions of stars, celestial bodies, and space anomalies can be seen, by the naked eye, floating in the sky, it's ranked number one on the more beautiful dimensions ever." With that last note, Hekapoo continued.

"So it was the usual walk after dinner, everything was beautiful, and when the super meteor shower began he... you see Marcoooooooo." They were all dying of suspense, just waiting for her to continue.

"He gets down on his knee and asks me to marry him." All of the girls were surprised at that sentence, some of them left their mouths hanging, while other looked like their eyes were about to put out of their skulls, only Star was sporting both of these expressions at the same time and harder than anyone.

"He even got me a ring and all, he made it from the heart of a diamond golem that he defeated..." She was interrupted mid-sentence.

"I don't buy it, Earth turd could never have done that."

"Oh, wow I agree to tell you a huge personal part of my life and you sit around calling me a liar" She was visibly upset at Pony Head's implication.

Jackie tried to calm her down, so that she could continue the story "Please Hekapoo, is just that, well it was just surprising to hear that."

"Can we see the ring?" Starfan asked with eagerness.

Hekapoo nodded, then grab Nachos by her chin, whisper something in her ear, the girls saw the dragon cycle drive upstairs, then they heard some rumbling and quickly saw Nachos get back down with a little box on her mouth. Hekapoo took the box and handed it to Starfan.

"Here it is, I tried to give it back to him after we broke up, but he said to keep it. He did make it for me in the first place, and he already had the scissors to remember me."

The ring that the girls were passing around was made entirely of a huge diamond stone, it was so shiny and gorgeous, even if it weighed a tad more than a normal ring, it was like nothing they had ever seen before. "Wow, but that sounded so romantic and this thing is so awesome, why would you ever broke up?" Star said while looking at the ring before hanging it back to its owner.

Hekapoo looked at her ring, gave it a little smile and put it on just for nostalgia sake. "Yes it is a beautiful ring and that sure was a romantic evening... oh man I screw Marco's brains out..." She suddenly realized the rating she was going to, so quickly changed the topic, not fast enough as the girls were already blushing.

"Getting off track there, the thing is, we were so happy about the engagement and crazy planning the wedding, but we just kept postponing the whole thing, then we were four years into the relationship and suddenly we realize that yes we loved each other, but we were not IN love."

All of the girls gave her an incredulous look, she knew that she had to elaborate a little bit more.

"It was like we realize we were together for the thrills, we had all the fun in the world dating and all, but we really weren't made for each other, marriage is not just sharing the fun happy times, it's being together in the down times, the boring time, and we could not follow on that."

The atmosphere got grim suddenly, Hekapoo looked like she was sad remembering her relationship, the Earth girls were suddenly trapped on their thought, they were teenagers, they never thought about marriage and the like, this was so alien and new for them, Pony Head was just bored, she didn't care for marriage at all or Marco, but she was keeping attention to everything Hekapoo was saying.

Star was both sad and worried, this all just hit her harder thanks to the date that was soon approaching, Hekapoo just said all of the things that worried her about marriage and even new fears that she never thought about. Never did she thought that finding a partner meant so much work and detail on the little things, she thought that a husband was more of a best friend with benefits, but to have someone to be with you even through all of your faults and bad times, was that even possible? She needed to know one more thing.

"How did Marco took it?" Star asked with a face full of concern for her friend.

"Well, it was Marco that shoot the whole thing down, I was the one surprised. I hated him for a long time, but then I began to saw his point of view, and we made amends, were able to remain friends. Which is cool for us, he really is a nice guy, and he deserves a good partner not only a good girlfriend."

All of the girls began to feel different emotions on a flash, sad about Hekapoo's love story, but at the same time companionship towards their friend in common, like they all know him a little more. They also felt curious at what pieces of information could they get from Hekapoo, she was the only ex-girlfriend of Marco that hey knew about. But Star wasn't the only one still concerned for Marco's behavior.

"So if you two parted in good ways, we still don't know what is happening to him, why is he so miserable right now?" Star began to think about what else could be bothering Marco.

"Yeah bummer girls, but I really don't think questioning Hekapoo will help us anymore, I mean she only dated the guy for like, four years, knows him for more time than anyone ever and the two were engaged, what could she tell us? Is all I'm saying" Pony Head was just trying to move the night forward on a more interesting note, love stories are overrated anyway.

It did help, all of the Earth girls looked at each other, then made eye contact with Star, she knew what was coming and all four of them quickly directed their eyes to their new host, as they all opened their mouths Hekapoo spoke up first.

"Girls! Girls, one at the time, weird girl on the glasses you are first."

"Yay, ok this is a funny one..." Starfan was so anxious to be first "What's the most annoying think Marco ever did?"

Heka chuckle at that question "Ugh, every time we slept on the same bed he would touch me with his feet, it wouldn't have been so bad if his feet weren't always cold as hell, no matter the dimension nor the bed, his cold feet would always found their way to my skin." All the girl were laughing at the ridiculousness of the story.

"Ok let's move on, seashell your turn!" That took Jackie by surprise, she hadn't thought of a good question, so she went the easy route.

"Was he a good kisser?" All of them looked at her surprised, but Heka was not impressed.

"Well, no, at the beginning, then we practiced all day every day, now every girl that he dates can thank me for turning him into the fine kisser he is today." She felt proud bragging about it to the rest of the girls, she really was enjoying the surprise get together.

"So now mmmmmm, Pony Head, you have been quiet all night, don't you have a question?" Pony Head was caught by surprise, she wasn't ready to take part in the conversation, and now she was typing all of this down with her app, she needs to stop narrating all her feelings and really think of a...

"Ok so Pony Head is out, can I go next?" Oh, thank the gods! Princess Janna raised her hand trying to get attention.

"Sure delinquent princess shoot."

"Ok, I'm going to take the nasty route and ask, what's his kink? You know what I'm talking about." She gave the host that smugly smile, and the rest of the girls blushed while looking directly at Hekapoo, as they were waiting for an answer.

"Ok, don't you really think that is pushing it too far? I mean you gals see him often, I think, and seriously does that really interest you all that much?" Hekapoo was being the adult in the room, that sure felt like betraying Marco's trust, is not like her ex is going around saying her measurements to her close friends, maybe.

Hekapoo just looked at the whole room, and the gazes of her guest directed right at her, just waiting for the information. "You're all unbelievable, sorry but no, how would you feel if your ex was saying such personal things about you."

"What? You promise, c'mon help a girl out, how come only I don't get my answer, no fair!"

"First of all, I barely know any of you, and you just got a really personal story and some tease fuel, secondly, you want to know what's he packing? Ask him out yourself what are you scared?." She really stood her ground on her decision.

"I'm not scared, but you promise..." She was interrupted by Star, who was unamused at the argument.

"Let it go, Janna, you were already planning on asking him out anyway. Besides, I think we already stayed too long, and we didn't even have an idea on what's wrong with Marco." Star began to get up from her seat, trying to signal the rest of the guest to move it on.

"Well, I do have an idea..." Hekapoo said out loud, taking all the attention of her guests back with her. "It's just a supposition, but the way you describe his mood and the way he's been acting... I say you were spot on, the guy is love sick, you just got the wrong girl."

Star was taken back, at that comment, she had already shot that theory down, so how is Hekapoo so sure? "But I have seen it love sick before, it was with his first crush" Jackie jumped a little and then pondered on Star's argument.

"But he already said that he just liked the idea of me, and a crush is nothing compared to real love." Jackie was giving her piece of mind.

"Hell, when you said it back there at my house, it made perfect sense."

Star got surprisingly cheered up, she already was helping Marco get a girlfriend this was the same, just that it was helping him get the love of her life, and nothing was impossible for her. "Well cool isn't it, I just need to help him get with the girl he wants, I can totally do it after..."

The realization suddenly hit her that this may be more difficult than she first thought "Crap, I'm going to be on Mewni the whole weekend preparing for the stupid bachelor waltz, the waltz that is only one week away, I'm never going to have time to help Marco."

Starfan suddenly interfered, trying to cheer her idol up. "No Star, you can't give up like that, you have all of us to help, we will help you next week as soon as you come back."

"Yeah Star, with our help, I promise we can cheer Marco up," Jackie said to her friends.

"Woah ok girls, you do realize you are promising to cockblock me right now?" Quickly after her comment, Princess Janna received a light death glare from Jackie "Ok, ok, I can enter into his computer or steal his diary to help you all, just going to have to find another potential date whatever."

Pony head, suddenly went alive, after she realized the dirt on Marco was not going to keep coming. "Well, I don't really talk with the guy, but if I can do anything to help just call me and I'll be right there for you."

"Well you seem to have a plan, so I take it that you don't need me anymore, but if the guy ever tells me anything, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Hekapoo, you are a cool girl. And thanks for hearing us out, and for the help, we really appreciated. But we are all tired, so goodnight."

"Thank you, you girls are not half bad, some more than others, so yeah goodbye, say goodbye Nachos."

The dragon cycle growl at them, while Hekapoo opened a portal to get the girls back into their dimension of origin, but she stopped the last girl for stepping into it, it was the Princess of Mewni.

"Star before you go, I really recommend that you, and you alone talk to Marco first, and then do any of your crazy schemes later, remember that he came back partially for you." Afterward, she pushed the princess out and the portal closed in front of her.

Now, back on Earth, all of the girls began to pick her own things up and got ready to head back to each other's home.

"Well we had a good time, we made fun of Janna, we talked a little about boys, and we even have a chance to met Marco's weird ex-girlfriend, all in all, a cool night." Jackie was just smiling at probably the most interesting night that she ever had with her friends.

"Yeah, I got a lot of tease fuel towards the Earth turd to last a while, I'm just kinda sad that all of the info I got for B-fly was for nothing, I mean we didn't even review it."

"Well yeah bummer, I think I'm going to the waltz blinded, well that's if I can't convince my parents to cancel it," Star said with smug confidence at that last part.

"Oh, nice of you Star for taking the negotiating route, I promise you will make them understand, then we will be able to laugh about all of this." Starfan was just so hopeful at how confident and sure about herself Star looked like.

"Ugh, well I'm glad you all had fun, I, on the other hand, had to wear the stupid dress and got blown off by that somethingpoo, hell I didn't even get to ride the dragon cycle," Janna said while changing to her pyjamas, and with huge disappointed on her voice.

"Talk to Marco later, maybe he will let you ride it, and the dragon cycle too, OOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!" Star said out loud, a stupid joke that actually put a smile on all the girls. "But now for real, I need to take Jackie and Starfan back to their homes, goodnight Janna sees you on Monday, and you too Pony Head, talk to you later."

All the girls said their goodbyes and Pony Head left via a portal, Janna just saw the other girls out through the door. The walk to Starfan's home was short but lively just talking about the whole night that all of them just had, and after saying their goodbyes on Starfan's doorstep.

Star and Jackie took their leave, that walk was a bit quieter, it was more Star talking about what she was going to say to her parents, how she had been practicing, Jackie was amazed and really hoped she could convince her parents to change their minds.

So at the end, Star was alone to walk back home, alone with her thoughts about the night, mostly about helping her best friend, but the topic that was on the back of her head was Hekapoo's advice, maybe just talking with Marco will reveal what was best for him. She began to get anxious about arriving home and talk with Marco, how was his night, where did Tom took him, and if he had fun.

She still was anxious about talking to her best friend as she saw the Diaz's household in the distance, she couldn't wait to see her friend.

It was Thursday of the third week, just 9 more days to the Bachelor Waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun to write, well, more like fun to come up with ideas of their conversations. The idea of Hekapoo being the more mature of the bunch may be out of character for her, but while Marco came for a challenge, the girls come looking for help, that's how I justify it. Also, I wanted a lighter chapter after the last one.


	7. A normal day in high school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I can only describe as a filler chapter.

Star arrived at the Diaz's household, it was past eleven already but the moment she went past the door and to the living room. She saw Mr. and Mrs. Diaz cleaning the living room. The couple that came over long gone already.

"Hey Star, welcome back! Did you have fun with your friends?" Mr. Diaz was the first one to greet the princess.

"It was awesome, the funniest night I have had with the girls! But hey, did you know if Marco is back already?"

"Oh, sorry Star, I don't think he is back yet. Which is weird, he has never arrived so late before." Mrs. Diaz said with a concerned voice.

"Don't worry ladies, I'm sure he is already here but probably went to bed. Why don't you check on him Star?" Mr. Diaz said with a voice full of confidence, he did trust his son after all.

"Maybe I will, I'm pretty tired myself. You two have a great night by the way!" Star quickly made her way upstairs, she visited the bathroom in order to clean her face and prepare for bed, first of all.

On the bathroom, she washed her face and brushed her teeth, but before she went to her room. She made a point to press her ear onto the door that leads to Marco's room, she heard nothing from the other side but decided to wait a bit before knocking.

After a quick change into her pajamas, Star could already hear the Diaz's walking into their rooms. Still nothing from Marco's side, she decided to enter through the bathroom door, without knocking and scolded herself for forgetting about it again.

Inside, Star found nobody, which saddened her. Tomorrow, she was going back to Mewni for the weekend, so that meant no best friend for that time. She just wanted to, at least, have some more time to spend with him. But it was already late so maybe she could wait in his room till he gets back, how long could that be?

Two hours later, a portal opened in the room, from which Marco passed through. He was tired and only wanted to sleep, but before that, he needed to use the restroom.

It was the sound of running water that half woke Star up. "Oh, Marco must've arrived, cool." She just rolled to her side and cover herself with the blanket. A few minutes later she heard the door closing, very near her actually, then the sound of two things getting thrown around the room, again that sounded awfully close to her. Finally, she felt something getting into bed with her, whatever it was, it smelled really nice.

"Mmmmmm, smells like aloe and recently picked flowers." She said, still snuggle on the bed half asleep.

"Thanks, Star, you also smell really nice." Suddenly it hit the two teenagers, they were laying on the same bed. Marco missed no time sitting upright and talking out loud. "Star! What are you doing in my room?!" This was able to fully awaken the princess up.

"What?! This is my room... Wait no, I was waiting for you to come back, and your bed was so comfy and I was tired... Hey whats up with that?" Star wasn't talking about the renegade outfit that he was wearing, she remembered where he got that. She was pointing at the crown of flowers that her friend was wearing.

"Oh, this, a girl I met today gave it to me, she was a dryad, very nice girl, but I don't think I'll go out with her again... Damn, I hope I didn't break her heart." He said while taking the crown off and placing it on his nightstand.

Star quickly noticed the sad and worried look that her friend gave, she was... "Wait, did you say a girl gave it to you?" The tone of surprise made Marco jump a bit.

"Ah, quick summary, Tom took me to this nordic-style club. I don't remember the name actually. There, we meet this two girls, each one of us helped one of them getting home. By the way, The Great Tree of the dryads is amazing, we should go visit one day."

"Wow I don't know if I'm more disgusted at Tom getting some tail, or happy that you finally got lucky," Star sported a face of disgust first, and then a smile towards her friend, but Marco focused entirely on that last comment.

"Wha... no Star... we are just friends, it was fun and all but, we didn't really do anything." Marco was in full blush mode, is not that he was uncomfortable talking about his night, it was that he didn't like the idea to share it with the girl he was in love with.

"Yeah right, that's why you are redder than your hoodies. You said she was a dryad, her smell is all over you, at least you should have kissed her." 

Well she wasn't wrong so he responded "Yes we two kissed..." Star looked at him expectantly, she was waiting for him to keep going. "And that's all I'm going to say."

Star was displeased at her friend's lack of information, she was preparing to press him more about the topic.

"Listen, I will tell you later, some day, but right now is past one, and we have school later." The boy had mental laziness right now, he just wanted a good night sleep and his bestie was in the way right now.

"Ok Marco, goodnight" The girl just lay back down and rolled herself on the bed sheets.

"Star, you are still on my bed, please go to your room." Marco was almost begging at the moment.

"I don't wanna, I'm already too comfy here." Still, she had her eyes closed.

"Star, please" She didn't budge. "Ok, have it your way." Suddenly Star felt Marco sliding out of bed, she looked up and realize her friend was now on the floor with a single pillow.

"Marco you are being ridiculous." Marco didn't make a peep. "Marcooooo, I don't really mind sharing the bed, at least take the blanket it's a bit chilly." Still, Marco just lay there. He was sure that Star would just agree to move away or just get back to sleep, he wasn't bothered about sleeping on the floor.

Suddenly, he no longer felt the floor, he just felt the sudden loss of weight and by reaction opened his eyes. He found himself encased on a glowing pink aura and began to move back to his bed. Then, he discovered that the ray of light was coming from Star's wand. He fell back on his bed and Star covered him with the blanket.

"There, we didn't get to have a friendship Thursday so let's have our own sleepover." Star then smiled one last time at her friend, before rolling to her side, giving her back towards Marco, and finally falling asleep.

Well, Marco was now trapped, on one hand, he could go back to the floor and basically tell his friend that he prefer to sleep on the floor than beside her, or he could stay there and be driven insane at the thought of sharing the bed with Star.

He just lay there, still fully clothed, except for his socks, shoes, jacket, and fingerless gloves, he didn't really felt the need to change. His clothes weren't dirty nor wet, and he already swam back at the forest so he didn't need a shower.

He was just so tired, the whole night had taken a toll on his body. He wasn't sporting any injuries or feeling any pain, but the exhaustion was real now. 

Thought, he was surprised at himself. He thought that his newfound discovery would make it more difficult to be around Star. Yet he just had a conversation with her, while on his bed, and it felt like any other talk that the two had shared before. Even sleeping beside her wasn't as awkward as he thought it will be, maybe he just needed to close his eyes and sleep all of the worries away.

A few hours past and it was already morning, and time to start getting ready for school, but Star was having none of that. She was fast enough to silence Marco's alarm before it even rang. 

Her friend seemed so beat up last night that she thought "Why not give him a few more minutes to rest?" Hell, she was thinking about skipping the whole school thing altogether. But yeah Marco would never forgive her.

Still, a few minutes won't hurt, and Marco looked so peaceful while sleeping. That face full of drool, his totally messed up hair, and the fact that he was so buried in that pillow that it may even be stuck to his face when he wakes up.

After inspecting her friend, her eyes wandered towards the crown of flowers on top of the nightstand. She used her wand to grab it in order to get a closer look. 

The flowers were white carnations and still smelled like recently picked. Star knew only two things about dryads, that the flowers they pick never ever die, and that they don't need to shave. So this gift was a real deal coming from one of them. "Could this dryad be the girl that Marco is in love?" She said that a little bit louder than she imagined because Marco reacted to her voice.

It was a false alarm, Marco just jumped up a little and then changed positions, nothing more. Star felt sorry for her best friend, she took his hand, as if that would help him. To be so lovesick couldn't be easy, she just wished there was something she could do about it.

Star just stroke his hand gently and close her eyes while imagining the kind of girl Marco would fall in love with. Was she tall? Short? Cute? Serious? A bookworm? Funny? A master in martial arts?

Who could it be? The heroine of another dimension? Damn, could it be that it wasn't even human? There were a lot of cute species in existence, one of them must have caught his attention.

She held his hand even tighter at the mere frustration of this. If only Marco could be a bit luckier with girls.

Suddenly, Star opened her eyes to realize her cheeks were red. Not because of some blush mind you, they were literally glowing red. Her heart marks emitting red light took her by surprise, never had they done this before. She turned to speak to Marco but then looked at the time.

Crap, it was already 20 minutes after they usually get up. "Marco wake up! We are going to be late for school."

Marco just sat back up, with his pillow glued to his face, he looked at Star, then at the clock, then at his friend again. Afterward, he shot up from his bed and sprinted to the bathroom in order to get ready. 

The sudden rush of energy from Marco made Star giggle, but she also made her way towards her own bedroom to get ready herself.

He didn't want to miss breakfast. Marco readied himself as quickly as possible, and because of this, he grabbed the black jacket that he wore the past night instead of his regular hoodie. 

His full outfit was his same as always black pants, white shirt, and sneakers, just with the black jacket. He didn't want to waste more of his time changing because he was half hungover, half hungry, and fully done with this day already.

Ater Star finished changing to her usual deep aqua dress, both teenagers made it in time for some breakfast. "Marco dear, what's with the change of outfits?" Mrs. Diaz asked, surprised at her son new jacket, she had never seen it before and she surely didn't buy it herself.

"Oh, I just got up a little late and had to take the first thing I could reach." That answer didn't really appease Mrs. Diaz, but it was already late for the teenagers, so she decided not to press on, but she did have an announcement.

"By the way, Marco, your dad and I decided to go visit your grandma for the weekend, and with Star out for the whole weekend too, won't you like to come with us?"

He needed to think about it. "Mmmmmmmmm..." Maybe he needed some time alone, as of late he has been with either his family, friends or Star. "I don't want to sound mean, but I think I could use the time alone. I mean if that's fine with you guys."

"Don't worry son, besides now that I think about it, the laser puppies need to be taken care of, but you know what to do if you need anything, or if you have any trouble?"

"Yes, mom, not the first time I had been home alone and said hello to granny for me." He hugged her mom and left the table with Star in order to make their way to school.

"Hey Marco, will you be fine for the weekend?" Star said to his friend while walking to school.

"Sure Star, you don't need to worry about me I can handle it." Suddenly he put a hand on his friend shoulder, and with a reassuring tone said "Are you sure you can handle going back home? If you ever felt overwhelmed, you can just pop back home."

"Thanks, Marco, but I can handle myself, and I don't even feel stressed about talking with my parents anymore, but you can call me or any of the girls if you need something too."

The two teenagers lock eyes and both smiled at the other, they were able to give strength to each other. 

Strength and the confidence needed to know that they could surpass everything that was on their way, that's what friends do for one another.

Without realizing, the two of them had already arrived at school. Star ran up ahead to say hello to everybody. Marco just walked to his locker while regretting not bringing his hoodie with him The jacket was thick, and with the sun at full force, he was sweating like in hell.

All of this, but something felt weird. Arriving at his locker he took a moment to check himself, aside for the lack of red, there was nothing weird. His hair was spot on, his clothes clean, and you really needed to be in his face to notice the lack of sleep and tired eyes. He looked good, maybe it was his attitude? He felt shittier about life than normal.

So he concluded, that if he was right, maybe the rest of the world was wrong. He took a look around while walking to his classroom, and noticed what was up, kind of. 

Lots of stares were onto him, especially girls, this made him smile, for a moment, but then he remembered Feiya and how she got the wrong impression of him.

School carried as normal, and between classes, Star got busier than usual talking with schoolmates especially girls. It was weird actually, they all wanted to know how she and Marco were doing, and if she and Marco had done anything interesting together lately, but a few girls later, the topic was mostly Marco. Did her best friend suddenly grow an extra head? What made him so interesting? She had to find out.

It was during recess that Star walked up to Jackie and Starfan as they were sitting outside having lunch. "Hey, girls, I have gotten the weirdest questions about Marco today, did a rumor about him got around or something?"

It was Starfan that answer first. "Well, I heard some girls in the bathroom talking about how mature he looks, and what a cool aura he has. I thought I heard the wrong name."

Jackie had the answer prepare already. "It's the new look, I think, lots of girls are starting to notice him as well. Hell, even Brittany said he looked dreamy, whatever that means." Jackie put two and two together fairly quickly. "Maybe this is good Star, for him I mean, if he can't get it on with his dream girl, maybe he can find someone else."

Star felt a little taken back at that comment, she thought this may be good for her friend, but why wasn't she happy about him? "It doesn't sound right."

This surprise Jackie. "Excuse me, but why? Didn't we just agree yesterday that we were going to help Marco with his love sickness, and the whole thing just might get resolve on its own."

"Yeah Star, it may be a long shot, but why do you think this is wrong?" Starfan felt really weirded out about her tone, this situation was overloading her mind.

"It's just..." She thought hard about what exactly was bothering her about Marco's new found popularity with the girls. "He doesn't need rebound love, he needs someone that loves him for who he is, not what this new look makes him look like."

The other two girls looked at Star with surprised looks, but suddenly one of them realize what brought forward that grown up mentality.

"Star, c'mon, Marco is just fourteen, soon to be fifteen. He has all his life to find that person. Even if it's nice knowing there's at least a boy out there that doesn't screw around with girls every chance he gets, don't you think he deserves it? Just a little." For Jackie, it was obvious that Star had developed a different way of viewing relationships thanks to her needing to choose a husband soon, maybe. It's obvious that she may felt jealousy towards her friend for having what she doesn't, a real choice.

And yes, Star picked up what Jackie was trying to tell her, she may be overreacting about this whole thing. She decided to eat lunch with Jackie and Starfan and forget about the rest of the school for a while.

Meanwhile, Marco couldn't find Star anywhere. "Where's that girl? We usually eat together." Well, he wanted to be alone for the weekend, but he hoped to start it a bit later. Taking a look around, several girls were waving him over and he shot them down. Finally, he saw Janna sitting all alone and made his way over.

"Hey Janna, mind if I sit?" The girl just nodded while chewing. 

Marco sat down and began eating, after a few moments of silence, Janna spoke up. "Yo dude, I heard you need a lifesaver." 

He could only give her this answer. "What the hell are you talking about Janna?"

"Yes you need one, 'cause you are drowning in pussy!" Janna threw her hands in the air and began laughing at her friend embarrassed expression. "C'mon Marco, that was gold and you know it."

"Janna please, is not like I want this kind of attention and less over a change of clothes, or whatever is making me get it." The girl beside him began to check him out from head to feet.

"Well, it is a nice jacket, has anyone even approach you to ask you out?" This surprise the boy. 

"Nobody, but why the interest?" Please let it be just her messing with me.

"Want to go out this weekend?" Marco now was trying his best to hide the look of terror on his eyes, and silently prayed for Janna to begin laughing. She did not, instead, she kept her eyes on him, with her usual uninterested expression. Still, he needed to give her an answer.

"Sorry Janna, I mean... I'm going to be home alone for the whole weekend so I can't just mess around." He quickly started eating again, just to distract himself.

"Dude, your parents are leaving you the house for yourself, and you are not throwing a party, or having girls over. Man, you are boring." And she just resumed her lunch without further comment, maybe a little last one. "You could just have said yes and have an excuse to turn down the next girl that's going to ask you out you know?"

"I just feel like being alone this weekend, you know, some me time."

"I was just saying, dude. You know, some girls here think you are either gay, in a long distance relationship with a previous exchange student, or dating Star right now. I'm just saying, you shouldn't be afraid to show who you are to the rest of the school."

That, actually sounded very deep, coming from Janna especially... wait... "What was that about me being gay? More importantly, what was that about me dating Star?"

"Yeah, I mean, you two are inseparable, the way you smile when you are with her, the way she speaks of you when you are not there."

Marco brightened up at that last comment, he was smiling like a dork by this time. "She speaks of me? What does she say?"

Janna was half surprised but smiled at her dork of a friend. "Oh yes, all the time, when we are together on girls night, she always finds the way to bring you up as a topic." Oh, she loved the teasing the boy. Maybe she wasn't really lying, but his blushed expression and hopeful smile made her felt this new emotion she hasn't really felt before. Oh yeah! It was guilt.

"Damn, so that's how it feels," Janna said out loud without noticing.

"What was that Janna? How does what feels?"

"Nothing Marco, anyway, so you will be free and alone this whole weekend, right?"

"Yes? Don't think I would do anything either, but I will call if we can hang out."

"Yeah it's fine, by the way, the bell rang a few minutes ago, we are actually all alone at the cafeteria." She said while picking her tray up and throwing her garbage in the near dumpster.

Marco just looked around and they were indeed alone. "Dammit Janna, you could have said something." He threw away his garbage and ran to class at top speed, leaving a laughing Janna to pick up the pace behind him.

The rest of the school day went the least desirable route, with some girls approaching Marco to ask him out. Making him fell like a douche having to turn them down. He did have the excuse of having to care for the house for the weekend. On top of that, he was extremely tired from the night before, just wanting to go back home and sleep it all off.

At the end of school, Star made a quick stop in the restroom, where she overheard a conversation between what sounded like Britanny and another cheerleader. "So Brittany, you ever asked Marco out?" That sentence assured that Star was going to give her whole attention to the girls.

"Nah, didn't you heard? Janna asked him first, and he said yes!" Star almost gasped, but manage to cover her mouth. "If he has standards that low I'm not going to lost my time on Barfo." 

Again that almost got a sound out of Star, but again she restrained herself. This time she was angry at the girls insulting her friends, and at Janna. Was this her idea of helping Marco?

"You really think that would last more than a day? Janna sure looks like she puts out on the first date." Ok, that was the last straw. Star reached out for her wand and then she noticed it. A green glow that was emanating from the crystal, this stop her in her tracks. This had never happened before, lucky she was going to see her mother in a few hours so...

"Well, good luck for Barfo, he won't have to die a virgin."

Marco suddenly heard screaming coming from the school, he immediately had an idea of what may cause it and ran to that direction of the screams. "Star hadn't had a magic accident for a long time, what could've happened?"

He arrived at ground zero of the magical explosion, and for, his grateful, surprise, there was no fire. It wasn't an explosion, the whole girl's bathroom had been filled with, what looked like, a pink liquid. He could see some cheerleaders had been thrown outside by the magic, at least they were fine. 

Marco quickly ran inside the bathroom, where he found a petrified Star, sporting a shocked expression.

"Star what happen here?" He quickly kneeled in front of his best friend, still, she was unresponsive. "And why did you summon a tidal wave of..." He tasted some of the liquid that had gotten in his hands. "Cherry lemonade?" He tried again just to be sure. "Surprisingly good and sweet cherry lemonade?" Suddenly he noticed that Star was looking at her wand, he decided to just screw this and picked her in his arms. He was going to carry her home if need be.

When he got out the restroom, he already saw some of the students gather around. The cheerleaders were getting help from some guys, and he didn't have a way of explaining this. So he just walked away, with an apologetic look on his face. A few minutes later, while the two of them were on their way home Star finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry Marco, I lost control back there, I just... don't know... what I did..." She was surely going to start tearing up, if not for Marco there to help.

"Hey Star, I mean nobody got hurt and people are no stranger to random magic explosions from time to time, not since you came here anyway."

"That was different Marco, at least before it was something I screw up. This time I wasn't in control, it was like, my emotions went highwire back there."

"No Star, I have seen you fight. I know what you can do, if that were true, there wouldn't be a restroom anymore. You summoned cherry lemonade unless it got in their eyes, they weren't hurt."

"It's just, I felt dragged back at the last moment, and the only thing I could think was cherries and sourness." That comment did make Marco smiled, leave it to Star to drive herself on instincts.

"Hey mind if I ask you, what made you so angry?"

Star pondered for a moment, not that she didn't remember, it just that she wasn't sure if she could say it, so she threw her friend a curve ball in order for him to drop the topic. "I'll tell you if you tell me about you and Janna."

Marco suddenly stopped and looked at the girl in his arms. He gave her a shocked expression. "What about me and Janna? You know we are only friends."

"Well, that's not what I heard. For what I heard, she asked you out..." Star suddenly squinted her eyes at Marco before following with. "And that you said yes." She gave Marco the most serious expression as of yet.

"Ok first of all..." He put Star down on her feet. "There, I'm getting tired, and you look fine enough to walk." He signaled his companion to continue making their way home. "And yes, she did ask me out, but I said no. I just want to have a quiet weekend."

Star felt a bit relieved, at least she wasn't mad at Janna now, well, just a bit. "Now your turn, and I have a feeling that your question and my are related." 

Ok, she should have expected that one, and she did promise. "Britanny and some of her friends were saying that you two were going on a date. They also started to badmouth the two of you. I just lost it, again I don't know what took over there."

What she did expect now was to be scolded by her friend, it sounded worse saying it out loud like that. "I understand Star, thank you for sharing it with me." 

And then he kept quiet, this baffled Star so much that she was drawing a blank face. "What?"

"I get it Star, I too would have lost control if I heard somebody insulted you..." And he has. "And again, nobody got hurt, hell, aside for the restroom door and the clothes, there was no property damage."

"You do are getting more control over your powers each day." And he smiled at Star just to drive his point further. This wasn't a lie he told to appease her. He has seen her grown from the irresponsible princess to a more mature, more responsible person, and he was proud. She still was an amateur on magic, so this kind of things is bound to happen... 

Suddenly he felt Star hugging him tightly from behind.

"Thanks, Marco, it just means the world to me, that you think that about me." 

Wait, did I just said all that out loud. "Yes Marco, you said most of that out loud, but don't worry you said nothing incriminating."

Marco's expression was that of shocked terror. Good thing we are already home. 

Wait did I said that or only think it. "Yes, thanks to the heavens. I really need to shower before my parents come to pick me up." What's going on with me?

Star ran up as soon as she entered the Diaz's household, she needed to get ready for the weekend, and she let all the preparations for the last minute as always. Marco was just thinking about how she hasn't gotten ready for her trip back home, so he decided to help her out.

He just needed a quick change, remove his jacket and shoes. Put on a more comfortable hoodie. As he was doing this he could hear Star getting in the shower, so he assumed he had a while to start packing. Star does love her long showers.

On Star's room, he began looking for bags or luggage to start filling, he didn't find anything more that the old pirate chests around the pile of gold. "Ok no problem, I just oughta start folding clothes and separate a few things Star may wanna bring with her. I'll just stay away from the underwear."

As Marco began to pull down dresses and laying them on the bed, he realized the different styles that Star wears but still thought that her light blue dress was what most suited her. It was by far the simplest outfit she owned, but still, fit her best.

The dresses didn't take long, next was her toys, weapons, and equipment that she may want to bring with her. He separated them into those three piles respectively. He looked at all the trash laying around her room and how he needed to clean all of this up. Not just throw it all in the closet of secrets, but good old organization.

He picked up their dragon scales snack bowl/shield. At the beginning of their adventure, it seemed awesome to have an almost indestructible shield. It was after the two of them gather the scales and pay the meteoric blacksmith when realization stroke them, none of their styles really fit with a shield. 

Still, it was an awesome snack bowl, light enough to carry around and indestructible. It missed some separation for different snacks and sauces but...

Suddenly the bathroom door creaked open and he turned around to greet his friend. As he did and met face to face with Star. He realized she was wearing only a bath towel.

"MARCO! What are you doing in my room?!" She was embarrassed and caught by surprise. She knew that Marco was not to spy on girls but still, what is he doing here?

"SORRY STAR!?" He suddenly grabbed the bowl with his hands and buried his face in it. "I SEE ONLY NACHOS AND OLD CHEESE!!!! WHY DID WE NEVER CLEAN THIS THING?!"

"Just stay like that for a moment, let me change really quick." She used her wand to bring some clothes. Marco still held the bowl on his face and kept his eyes closed, just waiting for the all clear.

"Hey, you pulled out my dresses, thanks, now I can choose quicker. Which dress did you like the most?" Ok, she had to be teasing him right now.

"Star, just pick one!"

"Noooo, you have seen me on tons of outfits. Cmon is not that I'm asking you to choose underwear..." Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind. "Although..."

"You know what, I'll just go to my room. Signal me when I can come over." He made his way to his room, eyes closed, when he suddenly was stopped.

"No Marco, look I'm sorry, give me a moment and I'll dress up super fast." She sounded truly sorry about her tease. She wasted no time on her clothes, and when she was done. She picked up some napkins and when towards her friend.

"Now Marco, you can open your eyes, here clean yourself." Marco put the bowl down and took the napkins to clean up all the cheese on his face.

"Thanks, and sorry. I was just trying to help you pack up for your trip. It just escaped my mind that you might come out of the bathroom naked."

"Don't worry, but Marco, I'm going back to Mewni. I'm going to have everything I need there, that's why I never pack up." Well, that made total sense for Marco, he just wished that he had seen it before.

"Hey so, how do you feel, you know about going back? Think you are ready to talk to your parents?" He may seem like he wanted to clear the awkward atmosphere, but he truthfully was worried about her friend.

"I feel like, I'm breaking my promise to you. I can't even be there when you do it." He was now cleaning the snack bowl with the rest of the napkins.

"I know that, but don't worry I can handle it. It's not like I'll just come out with it. I'll probably talk to them Sunday before leaving, worst case scenario, I have to come back a little early. But I'm sure this is going to work." Both shared a smile of confidence and reassurance.

"Besides, I also feel bad, about not being able to help you as of late." Star began to felt sad remembering her friend's depressed mode from the past days.

"But you did help me Star..." She looked surprised at that. "The whole night with Tom, it did help me get some perspective, and it would not have happened if you hadn't pushed me into doing it. So yes, thank you Star."

Star blushed at her friend argument, but also was curious about what happened.

"Does it have to do with the girl you met?"

Now it was Marco who was blushing. "Feiya you mean, a little I mean... She did help me realize some things. I just discovered what had been bothering me so that's why I want some time alone."

"What is it? Can you tell me?" Star looked soo hopefully, and she was sporting the biggest puppy dog eyes.

"Not now Star, I barely understood them as it is." Lie, I know exactly what is going.

"Are you sure. I will not be back till Sunday, I mean, you can call through the mirror, but I don't think you want to take the chance that my parents answer." She does worried about her friend, and she knew they needed to talk about this.

Marco could only look at her deep blue eyes and found himself lost. He wanted to say it with all his heart. "Star it's just... I... you see... I..." I'm in love with you.

The look of shocked horror ran through his face. Did I just say that out loud? "No, you didn't, what is it?" Star took a step forward. "Marco, what did you just said to yourself?"

Marco held her hands and looked at her right in the eyes before saying. "I think your ride is here." He pointed at the window behind her.

A carriage pulled by a pair of warnicorns was waiting outside. The door opened and a red carpet flew out. "Guess I'll be seeing you Sunday." Marco said his goodbye.

Star was sad that their time together was cut short like this. "Yes, I'll come back really fast, wish me luck." She grabbed her wand and began walking to the window before being stopped by her friend.

"Star, I promise I'll tell you, as soon as you come back and you are free from that stupid waltz, I'll tell you what's on my mind." He said almost tearing up, and the two hugged goodbye.

A few minutes later. Marco was downstairs just done washing the dishes when he suddenly heard.

"Marco, are you downstairs?" He heard his father calling him.

"Yes, I'm here!"

As his parents went down, carrying their luggage, they had some important points to talk about the weekend. "Ok Marco, we know this isn't the first time we leave you alone, but could you please tell us what should you do if anything happens?"

"Call the authorities, the numbers are beside the house phone, and saved on my cell, and after that. Call you guys, if the police haven't done it already." This earned him a head rub from his father. He was just so happy to have such a responsible child.

"That's right Marco my boy, still don't be afraid to get out if you needed, and remember to clean up any mess that you leave." Mr. Diaz has been trying to be more attentive with his son, apart from the issues he has been having with Star. He knew that Marco needed to clear his mind.

"Thanks, Dad, but you don't need to worry, I'm happy being at home for the weekend."

"Sure son and we trust you, just remember that." Marco was a little confused at that comment, he knew that. But his father never needed to remind him about it, still, he smiled and helped his parent load the luggage on their car.

"Marco I hope you are fine being left alone. You know, you can still gather some clothes and join us." Mrs. Diaz said trying to get her son to join on the family trip.

"Thanks, but I don't feel like going out. I sure hope you have a good time, and say hello to grandma for me."

Marco's parents hugged him and said their goodbyes, he saw them going away on their car till they were out of sight.

Marco was just tired, partially for the night before, and the whole business with Star. He just rushed throughout his duties, cleaning the kitchen, and walking the laser puppies. After his chores were done for, he decided to call it a night a bit earlier than usual. It was just the eight of the night but he decided to go to sleep.

It was Friday of the third week. Just 8 more days till the Bachelor Waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one will be Star's weekend with her parents, That'll need a bit of a rewrite. In case you didn't notice, Marco was hit by two spells here. I imagine that Star sometimes would "emanate" magic energy and just throw low-level spells from time to time depending on her emotions. She hit Marco first with an "attraction spell" which made him more attractive to girls, and a "truth spell" which shut down his inner monolog.


	8. Weekend at Star's

Star arrived at the Butterfly Kingdom, a short ride to say the least. She knew what had to be done this weekend, and was ready to face her parents. To show them how serious she was about all of this. Only thing is, she couldn't do it right away, first she wanted to demonstrate how much she had grown up, both as a person and on her magic training. Besides, just going at them with the topic would make her look impulsive, so buying her time till Sunday was the best option right now.

As soon as Star saw her parents, she ran to them with her arms wide open, embracing them both in a huge hug. The Queen and King missed no time hugging her daughter back. The family was back together, not under the best circumstances, but the feelings are real.

Durning her Friday on Mewni, Star passed the time more like she was on a family visit than in royal business. She ran around in the castle, visit the countryside, played with the warnicorns, and during dinner, she talked with her parents about Earth and her friends.

"How's Marco dear? I heard some great stories of your adventures." King River said across the table from Star.

"Eh, we play around on Earth and fight whatever monster that we may come across. How did those boring incidents make it to you?" Star just tried to dismiss the question, she knew that that dimension hopping was forbidden by her parents.

"Star, we know you two have been around dimensions, we heard from your more exciting travels throughout some bards." Queen Moon said, not with an angry tone, but a reprimanding one. Star at least had the decency of looking embarrassed at getting caught on her half lie.

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be doing it, but we never cause problems I can assure you. It's for fun and games, and I can say that nobody got hurt, that didn't deserve it." That last part was more like a whisper.

"Now dear, we know how you can be, but we are past punishing you for that can of disobedience. Besides, those are some good stories to be told around." River said calmly to his daughter.

"What do you mean by that?"

"What your father means, is that we are trying a different approach to raising you. Because of the recent events with your book. That is why we think the prince waltz will be best for you." The tone of voice that Queen Moon spoke with was calm but stern at the same time. If Star was serious about getting out of the waltz, her mom was the same about making her go through it.

Star manage to keep her cool and ask. "By the way, can some friends of mine come to the event. From Earth I mean?"

"Sure darling, it is a night for you so I don't see any..." King River was cut off short.

"Star I don't think that is a good idea, it is a formal and important event for you and the kingdom. I wouldn't want you fooling around, besides, I don't think it appropriate to bring a boy as a guest of honor from your part".

"No mom, I mean some girls from school. But now that you said it, what do you have against Marco?" Star was intrigued at the Queen mentioning her friend in specific.

"Is nothing Star, but consider the nature of the event. If what your father tells me about the boy is correct..." That comment puzzled Star, well it would have if she wasn't already aware of her father's wrong idea about their relationship.

"Mom and especially you dad, Marco and I are just friends, nothing more, we have never even dated or kissed, dad just got some weird ideas when we hanged up together." Star just vented a little about the misunderstanding.

"I just wanted to invite the girls from school. I need to choose a husband at the end of the night. Having someone to help me decide could be useful." She made a real and simple point about it. "Besides... it could really help me to go through the night... having someone I know with me." She began feeling sad all of the sudden, just thinking about going through that night alone was hard.

Her parents saw how disturbed she was getting about the issue at hand "Now now dear, I already said you can bring your friends over, so I don't know what are you worrying about." The way that her father talked with such confidence and warmness sure helped her to calm down.

"But Star please, remember what I told you. It's an important event, so tell them to behave, and only girls." There had to be some sort of control. Queen Moon understand two things about the waltz, that it was going to be one of the most important on Star royal life, and that she was going to have a bad time during this. Letting her have some friends over may be risky, but it may be for the best.

"Thanks! You two are the best. I already finish, see you tomorrow." She quickly stood up and ran to her old room, she was still tired from her day, besides, she already had enough on her mind and tomorrow was sure to be a long day.

Back at the dining table, The Queen, and King were still debating about what happened with their daughter. "River, we agreed to be more responsible with her, and you just follow her lead like always. I hope nothing goes wrong."

"Moon, we also agreed that Star is going to have a hard time dealing with everything so we should make all the effort to ease her into the idea." River said, busy filling his plate with more food. "While we are talking about her, do you really think she would do this without a problem. I know our daughter well enough to know she won't take it laying down."

"Exactly River, the fact that we know she may do something over the top to get away from this, is why she needs it in the first place." Moon already moved on to dessert instead of waiting for the King to finish. "I mean, I would have gone through it if I didn't meet you beforehand, and I know that she is very young..." She stopped talking for a moment, it really pained her on the inside that she was making Star go through all of this, but she understood that it had to be done.

 

"Dear, if it pains you soo much, we can still call it off. The invitations were already sent, and it's just a week from now. But hey, we could feint an emergency and put the waltz on 'suspension', who wouldn't believe it?" River was now resting a while till the next serving.

"Absolutely not! Stability, we need to secure Star's future. It's not like she will marry the boy right away, so she has time to get to meet him, and she will have a choice. We even gave her the list of the candidates, do you really think she hasn't spied on any of them?"

"But dear, Star is everything but stable. Is like she isn't even royalty with the way she behaves. That's what makes her so sweet." River had already forgotten about the food and was giving his whole attention to the debate.

"Another good point, she is to be Queen next, she needs to learn about being royalty. This waltz is an ancient tradition on Mewni, sometimes she is going to have to do put the kingdom first. If she gains stability, the whole kingdom does too." It was clear that Queen Moon also knew Star very well, enough to be convinced that this was the best route to take.

"Besides, she really needs to step up on her magic training. So while she is busy with the prince of her choosing, I can focus myself looking for Glossarick, it's all planned down." She felt confident of her plan like she really came up with a foolproof one.

King River was starting to run out of counterarguments, and he couldn't really go back to the 'Star will riot' point. That just seemed to fuel Moon's logic. "What if she ends up hating us?" That was a low punch, but he knew they needed to consider all points.

The two just locked eyes, that question was a fear that both of them had, but till now they hadn't spoken about it openly. "A... A Queen needs to do what best for the kingdom, even if her daughter..."

River quickly interrupted "But what would a mother do? What should a pair of parents do?" Again this won him a deep stare from Moon, a sad one, but still concerned. "You can't tell me that you are Queen first, mother second."

"Of course not, River I love Star more than anything else in the world, but..." She was trying to scrabble some sort of sense for her next sentence. "We are not like most parents, we have a huge responsibility to pass onto our child. And like other parents, we would do anything to make our daughter a better person to handle that responsibility, and all of this River will make her a better person than any other option. I just know it." She was still sad, but now she was just looking at the table and her now empty plate.

River had already walked beside her wife to hug her. "Moon, do you remember what I told you before you agree to marry me?"

"That you would fight the biggest horde of the biggest monsters on the land just to see me smile?"

"No, the other thing, but who would have thought that would become reality." Both of them laugh at his comment. "About me not being very smart and very impulsive. So I would leave the thinking to you and give my support in everything you set your mind to." 

Again the two of them looked at each other in the eyes before River continued. "That has been our way of doing things since we married. It may not have helped us all the time, but I still know that's how we function the best as a couple." Moon was almost crying at this point.

"You are still the most intelligent and confident person I know, and if you feel this is the best way for Star and the kingdom. I will follow and support you because I love you." Both shared a soft kiss, this decision may be hard on both of them, but they were on this together.

"Besides, I know Star could never hate us, as much as we could never send her to Saint Olga's" They both laugh at River's comment, still, this filled Moon with enough confidence and strength for tomorrow.

"I love you too River, and if you excuse me. I'm already full and I feel like going to bed early. Tomorrow I have to spend all day with Star. I trust you can deal with matters of the kingdom while we are both busy." Moon began to excuse herself from the table.

"Of course, I'm King River after all, and you two need to spend more time together, good night dear. I'll go in a few minutes after I make my own rounds around the castle." River himself took a whole chicken with him for his night rounds.

After that, the two of them shared another glance and quickly made their ways in their own directions. Star wasn't asleep at the moment, being in the old bedroom wasn't as unfamiliar a feeling as she thought it would be, but the words that Marco said to her before leaving really trouble her.

"He promised me to say it me when I come back and was free of the waltz. So I must be sure to get out of this whole thing for real. I gotta believe that I can do it." These words fill her with so much determination that she was barely able to sleep that night, still, it was good that she didn't need to get up early in the morning.

8:00 am is totally not an early hour to get up anyway... either way. The trumpets really scared the hell out of Star and finding the maids in her room ready to help her change. Yes, this was going to be a really long day.

After getting ready and having their family breakfast. King River excuse himself saying he had royal duties to attend for the day. With that, mother and daughter made their way to the library.

"Star I know you may still be conflicted about taking part on this waltz, so I thought to start the day by telling you about this tradition of our people." Queen Moon took an ancient tome from the shelf and handed it open to Star, the specific page depicted some ancient drawings of people around a circle.

Queen Moon clear her throat "You see Star, it was after Mewni was created that the kingdom became one of the most powerful ones of the area. So it came to be that the next soon to be Queen had a lot of bachelors around. It was the princess herself that needed to choose the best one of the bunch, and so she came out with challenges to test every one of them. You see, those figures in the book? Those are the first princes to take the tests."

Star turn to the next page, she saw the figure of a princess receiving adoration from several people on their knees, while surrounded by piles of treasure.

"To prove your determination, your heart, and your worth, those where the challenges impose to those boys. That tradition was kept strong for centuries. Till Queen Eclipsa, then it began to be tone down, it became only a requirement if a lot of suitors were in the picture, or if she was in need for a king..."

"So, which one I'm?" Star cut her mother off after that last comment. "Do you really think I need a husband that much that you need to resurrect an ancient tradition?"

"Yes, I do Star" She could be so cold when she needed to, and that answer really put Star in her place, making her go silent immediately.

"Star, we can talk about it after you are acquaintance with the procedures and the night schedule." She looked at her daughter with a serious face and continued with her explanation. "Look Star, we are doing this easier for you, the first challenge of determination. We already told you that we rigged."

Before putting the book on the shelf, she stopped herself with a better idea. "Here, you should read it, a lot of useful information is in there." With that last note, she began walking away, signaling Star to follow her.

Star just looked at the book and decided to leave it behind in the library. Her mom already gave her the abridged version.

Walking Star to the armory next door, it was River's idea to put that beside the library. Inside Star looked at huge potato looking boulder in the middle of the room, and on the front of the boulder, a huge broadsword sticking out of it.

Moon signaled to the sword "Try pulling the sword out." She did as her mother said and tried pulling the sword from the stone, but it didn't budge. She tried again and again, with increasingly more strength each time, but nothing happened.

Star looked and her mother while huffing and puffing. Suddenly Queen Moon handed her a card. "Now Star try it while holding this."

Star took it and gave the card a look, it was one of the invitations to her waltz. She held it with her left hand while pulling the sword with the right one, it really didn't offer any resistance to her new effort.

She was baffled while looking at the sword. "Like it? You see, it's a requirement for every prince to present their invitation at the door, and right afterward they will take this test. But only the ones that are on the list that we gave you received this special kind of invitation that will let them go through the spell that binds the sword."

Star looked at the sword and then at the invitation on her hand. This felt weird, like this getting stirred up by her parents at the first chance they get. "What if I like a boy that isn't on the list?"

"Dear, we made that list to protect you from those that are not good for you or the kingdom." Moon quickly summoned a piece of paper out of thin air and handed it to Star. "Here it is again, you should at least learn the names of it."

Star looked at the list again, she hadn't read it since her parents gave it to her the first time, and that list she gave to Pony Head a week later. "C'mon mom! There will be hundreds of princes there, and only twenty are to be let in? At least let me chose a few guys to pass the test."

"No Star, this is our one and only rule for the night, but I promise. After the first test, we will leave you the most important decision of the night. Please, at least trust us on this." Moon was not going to beg to Star, but she really needed to get her daughter on her side.

With a sudden look of determination, Star put the sword back on the stone, let both pieces of paper fall on the ground and began to deep down. She tried for a few seconds with all her mental power, focusing on the sword, and only that. Her cheeks and eyes began to shine a bright light, and the sword quickly began to jiggle but still on the stone.

"Star what are you doing? You are still too young for that. I put the enchantment myself, there is no way you can pull that sword!"

She didn't listen, she was just focusing on the sword, on the waltz, on... Marco? For a moment, weird, but finally about herself. She could do it, she just needed to go deep down like never before and...

"My goodness Star..." Moon was impressed at what she was seeing in front of her. Star had indeed broken the enchantment, the sword was just levitating in the air, rather low on the floor, but that didn't matter, the sword was pulled from the stone, and Star did it by going deep down. Suddenly the sword hit the floor, and Star with it.

"Star, please tell me you are alright." Moon was all over her daughter, checking her vitals, making sure she was breathing, but suddenly she was pushed back.

"I'm fine, mom! Look I was able to do it myself, didn't I won the right to choose who gets to go in?" She said proudly to her mother, still flat on the floor.

"Yeah Star, and if I say no, what do you intend to do? Almost pass out helping every boy you choose in? I'm impressed Star, you are more advanced on your magic training that I thought, but it will not change my mind." She was happy about her daughter and what she just did, but still, that was a decision she couldn't back down.

"Worth a try... would you lift me the rest of the way?" She begged her mother, she still needed time to recover her strength.

"I can do better." Moon quickly pressed her hands on Star's forehead and belly, quickly, magical energy came out of her hands, restoring Star's energy on just a few seconds.

"Wow" Star was impressed, in a few moments she went from extremely tired to full of stamina. She quickly got up herself, picking up the list of candidates and the invitation herself.

"Another magic trick that you would learn, one day. Right now, let's get back to business, we have to go to the ballroom next."

A quick walk around the castle later, the two found themselves on the castle ballroom. A big spacious room unfolded in front of them, on one side there was a set of stairs that lead to the second floor. On the first floor at the right of the stairs, there were several doors, that lead to balconies outside, covered with white blinds. Queen Moon missed no time explaining the arrangement she had planned.

"You see dear, on this side we will have the buffet and drinks tables, also I already have plans for the music, and there in front of that wall. We will put the stage where you will receive your presents." Queen Moon seemed really into the whole party arrangement deal, but Star needed to ask one question.

"Wait you said that I'll have to be on the front to received all the presents? Didn't you said before that it was optional?"

"It is optional, for the bachelors if they want to make a big deal out of proving their worth, they are free to do it, and is your duty to smile and accept them. But that's the third challenge."

Queen Moon drag her daughter by the hand to the center of the room. "Part of keeping the list of princes short. Is because you need to dance with every one of them, it is not optional, so you are going to need tons of energy for that. Luckily, you are free to excuse yourself in between bachelor to rest or eat." Moon quickly remember something important to mention to her daughter.

"Star sweetie, one important thing, there is going to be wine being served around, it is a tradition of the waltz. A secret test of self-control and the servants are not allowed to deny you anything that night..."

It clicked for Star very quickly. "I understand mom, don't go crazy on the wine, you don't need to worry."

"More like, stay totally away from the wine, for the whole night. We will serve highly alcoholic wine and of the best quality, so don't take the risk." She made her point clear, she trusted Star to do something crazy so mixing her with wine was not a good idea.

"Don't worry mom, I promise. So you already told me about the first and second challenge, and a bit about the third one. What can I wait for the last one in specific?" She said pondering and with a half worried expression.

"Proving your worth, the princes are to show their own worth to you, either via presents or amazing deeds. There had been records of princes showing their worth with promises. They make a promise to the princess that, if the two of them get married, he will go out on a big quest or something like that." She received an incredulous look from her daughter.

"Yes I know, but those were other times, everyone was crazy about the quests and epic adventures. I don't know what's popular with boys nowadays, so just expect normal presents."

"Well that covers the challenges, what about the end of the night?" She knew very well what must happen at the end of the waltz. She was inquiring more about her mother's plan for the announcement.

"You see, the stage is not yet set up, it will be right there in front of that empty wall." She signaled that place, just at the end of the room, the stage may not be there, but the illumination for the night was already being set up by some workers.

"At midnight, everyone will hear the sound of the castle bells, that will be your cue to make your way on top of the stage, and for the prospects to arrange in front of it." Queen Moon took what would be Star's place on the stage, while her daughter took the role of the audience.

"The lights will cross around the bachelors, you know to set up the atmosphere, and you will have to say the name of the prince out loud and signal him. Said chosen prince will then join you on stage, the band will play and fireworks will go out." She said the latter part while signaling Star to take place beside her.

"Star, when you are on stage with your new fiance, the only thing you need to do is smiled and wave at the rest of the guests, you can tone it up, but just a notch." She made the point of jamming her finger on Star forehead, as to make her statement clearer.

"But after all of that, what would we do, where will we go? What about the rest of the guest?" Meaningful questions, taking into consideration the awkward atmosphere and some angry reactions that may happen after the announcement.

"Yes, we already planned the escape route." Moon made an illustration on the air, it depicted a weird circular symbol, with different ornaments around it, and several ancient runes were drawn on it.

"A simple teleporting circle made to take you wherever it says while being drawn, plus some extra tricks to make it look appealing to the audience. I myself will draw it on the stage, that is where you and the prince will stand, then I will activate it and you both will be teleported onto the library."

"And from there on, happy engagement?" She half regretted not being able to contain her snark and sarcasm.

"Quiet with the sarcasm lady." She glared at Star in disapproval. "While you two are in the library, your father and I will wish farewell to the guest and clear the castle. Since you said you will be bringing some friends we will make sure that they get home safe no need to worry."

Soon after walking Star on several steps and the proper behavior that she needed to show at the princes during the night, it became time to eat. They had a family lunch time with King River showing up last, thanks to him being occupied by some royal duties or what not.

It was a quick lunch as the girls needed to discuss several little details for the night. Star had to get her messurements taken for a new dress. They visited the kingdom chefs to talk about the dishes that were going to be served and the drinks for the night.

Moon was able to talked Star down on her idea of having a big entrance to the castle. It wasn't a night to show off, but to let others show off, is what Moon argued. All in all, it was a boring day with lots of royalty problems. At the end of Star's review of the event, the two of them came back to the library. Moon needed to explain one last thing to her daughter.

Moon directed herself to Star and with a stern tone of voice said. "Star, we will send you a guard to get you, and the prince you chose will remain in the castle for the next day. He will need to hear some of the new responsibilities that he will receive, but.."

Moon placed a friendly hand on Star's shoulder, she needed to make sure she understood that this came from the heart. "Listen, Star, this may be a huge burden to carry around, but it doesn't have to be, this is why you're making the choice and not us."

The two of them met eyes. "If you can choose someone that you can love, then get to know him, be part of his life, not just avoid him until the day of the wedding. I'm just saying, try making an effort and you will be happy."

Star wasn't amused at those words, she felt almost insulted and fully hurt by her mother's words. She just slapped her mother's hand away and looked her right in the eyes, making no effort on hiding her rage.

"NO!!! I will not go through all of this! I can meet a boy, fall in love, and get married by myself. I don't need yours or anyone else's help. On that matter, it's my life! How can you make me do all of this? Do you really feel you need to control my life this much?" She wasn't hearing herself ranting to her mother, and part of her knew, she just screwed up the plan.

"Mom, just please make me understand. I know that I lost the book and Glossarick, but how could getting a husband solve this? How could it even help me, or you just want a way to keep tabs on me? Because... because..." She began to sob and tear, damn be the consequences, she needed answers right now.

Queen Moon was surprised, not for the tantrum, she expected that from day one, but because she didn't expect her comment to bring Star to rage like that. Although, she could have worded that one better.

Still, Star was not finished with the rant, after a couple of deep breaths and some quick tears she was able to continue. "Mom I know how much of a mess I'm, and how many troubles I bring both of you, but I am growing up. I have been practicing more and more with my magic, even more than when Glossarick was with me."

"Before you send me to Earth, I know that I always promised to be a better princess, and I promise you not to mess around while I was staying with the Diaz's. I also know that I never even intended to keep all of those promises. But this time is real, from the heart. I can be better, the trick with the sword proves me right, Marco can be my witness, and I know you believe in me."

Star right now was begging to be free of this fate. She could've, and maybe should've, waited for dinner and had her father there too, but she had contained herself for too long, and she couldn't resist being quiet anymore.

Moon saw this, she was expecting this kind of outburst, but this was a different face of Star. It started like the Star she knew, with the screaming and the crying, but suddenly she became calm and full of resolve. This wasn't the same Star described by Star herself a few moments ago. Still, she was more on a middle point, from here she could either mature and grow even more, or fall back to her old ways.

"Sweetie tell me, why are you doing this? Are you doing this just to escape or to go against us?" She needed to make sure that Star understood the point on all of this.

Star didn't need time to think it was obvious why she was doing this. "Because this is wrong, to make your daughter do all of this, maybe it was a tradition needed on ancient times but that's what it is, ancient. Mom, I'm standing here before you by myself, for my own future and life. I'm doing this because I know that I don't need anyone forcibly pushed into my life to reach my full potential."

She was so proud of herself, she first had the idea of this speech since the sleepover. She may have added that 'ancient' part at the moment but the rest was prepared already, all during this last weeks. She had prepared and polished it, trying to find the right words for when she confronted her parents. Marco liked it and she adore it while she practiced in front of the mirror, this had to make her mother come to her senses.

Moon, on the other hand, was disappointed, Star had a good idea in there somewhere. Had she said the right words and meant them, the Queen may have had a harder time deciding to keep the waltz going. But alas that was not the case, and Star needed to know why her words had no effect.

But she needed to make her understand so that she won't go through another outburst, so with her most sincere smile, she said. "Star sweetie, please show me the magic wand." Star did as commanded, but she found her mother's reaction to her words weird.

Moon looked at the magic wand still on Star's hands, then at the girl holding it and said. "You see sweetie, your magic power, and the way you use the wand, is controlled by your emotions. The way you feel and how open you are with them can, and will affect your training. So no Star, I'm sorry, but you do in fact need at least someone for this because no one can be an island."

Star stared at her mom wide-eyed, she felt like a little child being lecture, but she wasn't angry she felt a warm feeling on the inside. "Star, I trust with all my heart that some day you will master the magic wand and with that, your powers, but that isn't the reason why we decided this is best for you."

Moon began walking towards the nearby window that overlooks the city. She signaled Star to come join her and then explained. "It's about them Star, you are royalty, that brings many responsibilities, and demands, mainly stability and maturity. We are doing this because you need to become Queen one day. Sadly, you cannot stay a princess forever. Following your training is important and challenging, but so is growing up, and at least we can still help you with the latter."

Star could only feel saddened by her mother's words. They made sense, yes, but that didn't make her feel any less defeated than she was. She began to walk away from the window and try to exit the library but her mother stopped her by calling her out.

"Sweetie, yes this is harsh for us to do, but trust us on our decision. I know my words won't make you believe that this is best for you. So I'm begging you to have faith in us, your parents. We love you Star we will never do anything to hurt you."

Yes, she was right, her parents had been so protective and demanding of her, but she always knew that they love her no matter what. "This hole waltz still sucks..." Star began to cry but was trying to hide it from her mom. "But I love you guys so much, that's no lie." She turned around to face her mother, but still was looking down with her eyes closed and crying.

Suddenly, Star was being hugged by her mother. "I wish that you drop all of this, but now I see that I can't convince you otherwise." Star tried to shuffle out some words to answer to her mother but came up empty. So she separated herself from her mother's embrace and said.

"If this was all you needed to say to me. I'll be back to Earth tomorrow morning."

"Well dear, if you don't feel like spending some more time home, I understand."

After that change of words, Star walked to her room. She was depressed at how badly it went down there. She felt so alone on her huge room and just wanted to be back on Earth, with her friends. She didn't feel like going down to dinner, preferring to sulk away on her bed. That was until she heard somebody enter the room, she looked up and saw her father with a plate of food.

"Star sweetie, how are you feeling there? Look I brought you dinner." He had those worried eyes soo full of love that she was well familiar with.

She took the full plate and place it on her nightstand. "Thanks, dad, but I don't feel like eating, or talking."

Still, he tried to push her to open up. "C'mon sweetie, you mom tells me that you will be gone by the morning. We didn't even spend time together, I was hoping you stayed for some good old fashioned hunting." He started to shadow box and act like he was out there fighting with a sword in hand.

Star found this kinda funny, leave it for River to cheer her up, but then she remembered. "What else did she say to you?" She looked at him with sad eyes, no longer a smile on her face.

"Enough..." River sat down at her bedside side her. "She told me how good you have gotten with the magic training, and how you promise not to touch the wine during the waltz, good choice by the way." This only gained him an annoyed stare from Star.

"And she told me what you said. I wish you had waited till dinner, I would have like to hear it." He scratched the back of his head trying to find a way to talk about it. "I will say that I do agree with your mother, but I would have waited for you to grow a little bit older."

Star stopped looking at her dad in the eyes and just looked at the floor, he felt a bit hurt because of this. "I know Star that this is going to be hard, but I know how smart you can be, I fully trust you to look past it and understand why we do this."

"I do understand, I know how hard things might get with Glossarick gone. I just wished there was another way." Again on this day, she was suddenly hugged by her parent on the room.

"I know dear, I know, but at least know that we love you no matter what happens, and please eat. I wouldn't be happy eating knowing you are not."

"Thanks, dad, but I don't really feel like eating, you feel free to go at it..."

"No Star, if you don't feel like eating, then I don't feel like it either." He said with and stern and proud tone in his voice. "But if you began to feel the hunger, I'll leave the plate here for you."

This truly made Star laugh, River was always like this when it came to cheer her up. "Thanks, dad, but again you feel free to eat, I'm just feeling a bit down."

River pondered for a second and came up with this idea. "Why don't you go to the studio and call Earth, maybe a little talk with the boy Marco would cheer you up. Anyway, that's it for me I have to join your mother for dinner, goodnight dear, and please think about it, the hunt can get boring alone." With that Star said her goodbyes and was left alone once more.

Star thought about it for a few minutes, the studio was all alone at this hour of the night, and she could use her bestie cheering her up... Missing no time, she decided to leave her room and quickly arrived at her parent's studio.

She looked at her reflection in the magic mirror, but before she decided to use it she began to have doubts. Maybe Marco was already sleeping, or he went out for the night, or what if he can't hear her calling anyway. Is not like Marco wanders around in her room when she isn't there. At least she hoped so, but maybe she was worrying too much, and why not give it a try anyway? It couldn't hurt anyone. "Call Star."

It rang a few times, enough for her to lose hope at getting a response from the other side, but suddenly, the line connected and Star looked up happy to talk with her best friend.

"Yo Star, how is everything out there?" This wasn't Marco, it was Janna, what's the meaning of this?

"Janna? What are you doing in my room at night?" She was genuinely puzzled at finding one of her closest friends on the other side of the call.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for Marco to get everything ready." What's was happening over there? She thought that they weren't going out on a date.

"What are you talking about? Ugh, just bring Marco here please." She saw a huge grin forming on Janna's face at that moment, this wasn't good.

"I can't Star, you see, Marco is getting his room ready for the two of us." A looked of shocked horror flashed all over Star's face at that last comment.

"You see I kinda throw Marco a little surprise visit a few hours ago, and well, one thing led to another and let's just said..." If Star could press her face closer to the mirror, she would phase through it.

"I'm about to meet little Marco." She whispered, as to shocked Star even more, or just to get her angry.

"Hey Janna, everything's ready, let's go." It was Marco's voice coming for what it seemed another room.

"Janna I had a shitty day so I'm not in the mood for your teasing, so you go get Marco..."

"Oh yeah, I'm going to get Marco all right, anyway, sorry about you having a bad day, good luck." The line suddenly got cut off, this left Star with an angry look on her face and one hundred percent unable to do anything.

"That little... CALL STAR!!!" The mirror rang and rang, but nobody answered.

"Oh no Janna, you are messing with my Marco, CALL STAR!!!!" Again no response. She just screamed her lungs out and stomped back to her room, she didn't even pay attention to the several guards and servants that were on her way.

At her room, she went through all her clothes trying to find her dimensional scissors. She tried harder than ever, even to the point of just throwing everything out of her drawers, littering the floor. "Oh cmon don't tell me that I forgot the scissors AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!" She threw the last one of her drawer out the window, made her way to the nightstand and started to stuff her mouth with the food on the plate that her father left for her.

She only managed to say in between bites and chewing noises. "That Janna... thinking... she can just go... and mess... with my Marco..." She suddenly realized what she said and corrected herself, after swallowing her food. "With my best friend like that. I'm going to teach her a lesson as soon as Monday comes around."

Her mind wandered around the call for a few minutes, she thought about her two friends, could they really be doing that right now? That mental image made her blush instantly, so she tried to kill it with another topic.

That wasn't proving itself easy, but the rating of her mental images began to tone down, and so she began thinking if the two of them would be a good couple. At first glance it seemed normal, the whole opposites attract, but she still felt uneasy about those thoughts.

What was it about the thought of her friend dating Janna that bothered her so much? She pondered again and again but still came up with the same answer, it was just that Janna was not for Marco. She always felt that Marco could get whatever girl he wanted, with a little confidence, and it was not that Janna wasn't a nice girl. It was just that Marco needed a different kind of girl.

She just stayed on her bed, thinking about Marco, and how he would look like dating other girls from school. The cuter one had to be with Jackie, the whole crush for a long time finally realizing for Marco was too good to pass off.

Won't it be weird to see Marco going out with Starfan? Like, how would that even work to begin with? Not pretty she was sure of

Maybe he could patch thing up with Heckapoo. They would be a weird interdimensional couple, but she could see it happen.

She had totally forgotten about her own talk with her mother. So at least she could thank Janna for something today. After a few minutes of just being quiet, she felt asleep.

The next morning Star was awoken by her mother, she looked extremely worried about something. Star noticed it even half sleep. "Mom, what's going on? Did something happened on the kingdom?"

Moon was surprised at her daughter's response. "Well, some of the night guards and servants saw you really angry last night after dinner, and they even heard you screaming from your room, and now that I see what mess you did I began to worry myself. You didn't even change clothes before going to sleep."

Star looked at the mess that she left last night while looking for her scissors. "Relax mom, I wasn't angry at you or the talk about yesterday. Last night I used your mirror to call back to Earth..." She had to came up with an excuse so that her parents don't think wrong of any of her friends. "I received some news that really bothered me, that's why I made this mess, just to take it up with something... Nothing to worry about though so don't worry."

Moon was relieved about hearing that from her own daughter, at that she wasn't mad at them. "Oh and, now I really need to get back to Earth as soon as possible, sooooo, I'll get to the cleaning."

Her mother stopped her for a moment. "I'm sure whatever happened can wait a few hours, at least enough for you to get changed and have breakfast. Don't worry about your mess, the servants will take care of it."

After that, Queen Moon made her way out so fast that Star didn't have time to argue. After she got ready, she decided she felt hungry enough to have breakfast with her family. "Good morning dear had a rough night I heard." River greeted Star to the table.

"Don't worry I just received some shocking news from Earth, nothing to worry about, but I do need to come back fast. So I'm sorry no hunting for me."

"No Star, I really wished that you would come with me today. But if you are needed back there, well you should go."

Star just nodded and the family began eating together, it was a quick breakfast, mostly thanks to Star. As the finish, it was already ten in the morning and Star got into her room to get her things ready. Good thing the servants worked quick, she was ready to go and at the front gates of the castle in less than 30 minutes.

At the front gate, her parents were ready to say goodbye. "Star sweetie, one more thing before you go. See we are going to need you to come here one day before the dance, so we will pick you up after school like we did last Friday."

"No problem mom, so see you next weekend." That awkward atmosphere felt on the three of them, especially for Star. She had just one week before needing to make the biggest decision of her life yet. She simply said her goodbyes, no hugs or anything else, and got inside the carriage.

She watched her parents from the window and wave them goodbye, quickly she was back on Earth. She took a minute to stretch before getting out of the carriage. She said her goodbyes to the driver, and after he went away. Star jumped down the stairs looking for Marco, she needed to know what really happened last night.

Marco was in the kitchen doing the dishes when suddenly he got a surprise hug from his friend, which obviously made him blush. "Star! Why are you back so early? Why so cheerful?" He thought for a moment and suddenly gave out a huge smile. "You mean to tell me they called the whole waltz up?"

Star broke the hug and look at Marco's eyes with sadness, she wasn't able to talk about it. "I'll tell you about it, but first tell something, you see..." Marco was intrigued at what his friend may ask him.

"Yesterday night I call from home, and you see... Janna picked up the call and... can you tell me what was the deal with that? I thought you wanted to be alone for the weekend."

This really shocked Marco up, he never thought that she was going to question him about last night, but this was his best friend so he couldn't just lie to her.

"Well, let's go tot he living room, I'll tell you about my Saturday."

And they did just that, Star was ready to hear what Marco had to say about his Saturday. He then started with his story.

Sunday of the last week and the waltz it's still going, just 6 more days left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was difficult to write Star's parents as not to be the bad guys here. Really hope you all like the chapter I had to rewrite a ton here. Btw I love Star's little slip ups here and there.


	9. Saturday Night Live with Marco Diaz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll totally watch a cartoon about the adventures these three were to have.

It was a quiet Saturday morning for Marco, he did some cleaning, manage to finish all of his homework and before he knew it. Lunch time was on, a short one as he had no one else to talk to or cook for. After quickly cleaning the kitchen he realized how through this whole day had been so far, basically another day of his life before Star appeared, and yes, he was missing Star to dead.

But this time alone gave him the opportunity to think about his feeling for his best friend. He needed to know if telling her was the right decision right now, he did promise that he'll talk to her if she manages to get out of that arranged marriage. He said that because Star had been worried about him for too long now, and even though he wished with all his heart for Star to be free of her parent's demands, he just didn't think it possible.

So he needed to decide right there if he should confess to Star, dance or no. If the universe was on their side, by this time tomorrow Star life is free from the waltz and she will return happily and with no other major worries on the horizon. So if he were to confess on those circumstances, she either says yes and both of them lived happily ever after or he gets turned down, which sucks but he could survive that, but their friendship may not, which sucks even more than being turn down.

But if reality rains down on their life and Star has to go through the waltz, with all the implications that it brings, the last she is going to need is to have her best friend confess and the two of them distancing themselves to avoid the awkwardness. But was that really the worst scenario? If the two of them do share the same feelings, they could never be together, not without getting in some deep trouble.

So the possible endings were: The two of them end their friendship, they can never be happy together, or good ending. So chances were against him.

Marco suddenly got a fast thought, Star and the all that Mewni stuff are bizarre for him sometimes, so applying his own logic to this problem may not be the best option. He needed a different approach to this situation and he had the demon boy for the job.

Marco quickly ran to Star's bedroom to use the magic mirror, but he stopped in his tracks at the thought of bringing Tom into the situation. Would this be awkward? The two of them dated for crying out loud, and even though he felt open enough with the guy. He didn't want to be on his line of fire if the news angered him. 

Maybe he could call one of the girls and have a more heartfelt talk with them, but again he needed Tom and his familiarity with Mewnian stuff at the moment. Maybe he could talk to Pony Head, she was Star's other best friend, but she hated him or at least was annoyed by him. There really was no good choice at the moment.

Looking at this cross road, he decided to go the easy route, and flip a coin. He picked up one of the golden doubloons from the pirate treasure, skulls, call one of the girls and talk like normal humans, swords, call Pony Head and pray that the rumor doesn't go around all the way to Star... none of them, he calls Tom.

Up goes the coin, it bounced a bit and while it rolled around. Marco closed his eyes. None of the possible options were of his liking, but he really needed to talk with somebody. He opened his eyes when no more rolling could be heard, and half dreaded the results. 

The coin had lodged on one of the cracks on the floor, holding it upright. he panicked a little and with a whisper said.

"Call Tom..."

The mirror rang a few times and he practiced what to say.

"Oh hello, Marco, what's up? We haven't talked since last Thursday man, how are you feeling?" Marco wasn't surprised at his friend reaction, they did say goodbye on a pretty and harsh note, he should have called earlier now that he thought about it.

"Hey Tom, see my parents aren't home for the weekend, wanna hang at my house? Nothing like last Thursday, something chill you know?" He didn't know what this feeling was, but he suddenly felt ready to open up now that he was talking with a friend.

"Sure Marco, I'll swing by on an hour or two, I need to get ready first you caught me on an awkward time, see you later." And then he hung up, Marco felt relieved for a moment, thought he needed to get ready for whatever reaction Tom may have after hearing his news. He prepared the dragon shield and began thinking about where to said it, he didn't want his house to burn down, but at the same time, he felt safe in there.

But maybe he was just exaggerating, Tom had been getting better on his anger management, and the two of them are friends, so maybe he needed to have some confidence in his pal. Still, having some armor and an extra fire extinguisher at hand couldn't hurt anyone, especially himself.

An hour later, Marco already had pizza and snacks ready for the night, the dragon shield was at hands reach beside the couch, and two extinguishers on the kitchen. Suddenly he heard a knock on the door.

"Wierd, Tom usually gets in here via portal." He got up and opened the front door, he wasn't expecting her to appear on the other side. "Janna? What are you doing here?" His troublemaking friend was in front of him, with the usual attire and a full backpack strapped on the side.

Janna made her way inside by herself. "Well I thought about throwing you a surprise visit, but now that I see your set up, maybe you were waiting for me, or hoping I swing by?" She throws Marco a smug smile, the likes of which made Marco shiver and blush.

Suddenly another voice talked from the kitchen, it was Tom, he also carried his usual attire but also sported a backpack of his own. "Hey Marco, hey creepy girl." Well, this may turn up good or really bad. On one hand, he didn't really need a more dangerous version of Janna tonight, on the other hand, he hoped first to talk with one of his friends from Earth, but why Janna?

"Wow is the demon guy from the sleepover, what's up man, you had fun with that bottle?"

"No, safe kid over there didn't want it, ungrateful as ever I said." Both teenagers loved making fun at Marco, but Tom was confused at the girl's presence.

"Hey Marco, I thought you wanted to hang up, you should've said you were going to bring a girl over. I would have brought a date too."

"Yeah that's Marco for you, maybe he wanted to make you jealous that he is getting some." Now the teasing was going towards Tom.

"Ok creepy girl, I may not be dating anyone but I do get my fair amount of action. Marco could testify for me."

"Wow Marco, I didn't know you were cheating on me, or that you like guys with horns."

Yes, it was official, Marco had enough of this idle talk. "Ok people, stop talking for a moment." He directed himself to Janna. "Janna I'm not into throwing you to the street, so you can stay but tell me what do you want."

"Well as I said, I wanted to pay you a visit, but now that I see you invited demon boy here. We three should steal some beers from the convenience store and get wasted, we already had the snacks and everything."

"Hey, Marco this Janna girl is talking my language right there. Cmon, this way we can do whatever you want and still have fun." He said in between chuckles.

"Hey! how do you know I wasn't planning on having fun today?" He got mad at his friend, but Janna quickly complied.

"Well safe kid, your parents leave you alone for the weekend and you didn't even throw a party, and the only girl here is me. Yeah, not making a good argument there." Again she began to laugh along with Tom.

"Guys! Just, let's just sit down, maybe we all can have a chill night, but I'm telling you both right now, no alcohol." He gave the two of them a stern look.

"Hey, no need to worry, we are between pals, by the way, I need to wash my hands. Can I use your kitchen?" Tom signal the way to the kitchen, Marco nodded giving him permission. 

"Yeah I need to go too, I'll follow demon guy." With that, the two of them made their way to the kitchen. Marco didn't think it was weird, washing your hands before eating it common hygiene.

At the kitchen, almost in unison both of Marco's guests pulled the same thing from their backpacks, a six-pack of beer cans. Janna's where the usual cheap alcoholic drinks, Tom's had some weird letters all over the cans, a language from another dimension obviously.

"Wow, Tom, good selection you have there, I think, but what are you two celebrating?" Janna pondered at the situation, it was one thing for Marco to had a demon as a guest, another one for that demon to had brought beer on contraband to his house.

"Well the guy told me that he needed wanted to chill, but it was fairly obvious that he needs to take something off his chest, so I thought beer. Anyway, what about you?"

"I was honest about it, I really just wanted to visit a friend, and have a good time with him, but I only had enough money to bring these." Janna was almost embarrassed about showing her crappy beer.

"Hey, maybe we can do something with them, for now, let's just put these on the fridge, maybe later on the night we can drink them... How have you seen Marco recently?"

"Mmmmm a little down, the girls and I think he is love sick, part of the reason I wanted to talk to him tonight, maybe I should go, you may have a bigger chance of getting to open up without you." Janna thought what may be best for her friend, but at the same time, she didn't want to lose this chance to know what is going on with Marco.

"I think there's no need, if Marco wasn't ready to open up, he wouldn't have called me, or he may even have thrown you out at the door." Tom was also worried about helping their mutual friend, especially since the Thursday night incident.

"Let's just go through the, and see how everything unfolds. Deal?" He extended his hand towards Janna, which she shake in response, both of them wanted to help Marco and may not get any other chance.

Marco was just waiting on his guest while sitting in the living room, he was scolding himself because of his decision making, yes he needed someone to talk with, but did it had to be those two? Maybe with either of them alone, but not the two on the same room.

Afterward, Marco was joined by his two friends, all of them decided to start eating, just talking about whatever topic came to mind as the hours went by.

"So Tom, what happened to Nina?" Marco asked with a truly concerned expression. 

"Literally who?" Was the only response his friend gave him, this just made him facepalm before saying. 

"You know, the harpy girl from the club, it was just a couple of days ago."

"Oh yeah, fun girl we had a great night and all, but not good enough to start dating, what about you and that dryad, she was pretty."

Marco began blushing as soon as he got reminded of that night. "Oh her... We also had a good night after we leave you two, but... we just didn't think we should date."

"The safe kid nailed a hot date, why did you never tell us this Marco? But get real man, did you really 'do it' with her?" Janna couldn't let this chance to slip away, the chance to tease Marco even more she meant.

"Janna please." Tom manage to butt in, trying to set that question aside. "As gentlemen that we are, we would never divulge this kind of information." Said with the most possible smug that could be channeled on his voice.

"Pfft, whatever dude, gentlemen my ass you obviously cheat at games," Janna said raising her voice towards Tom.

This comment made the demon guy angry. "What?! Oh I know, you are still butthurt about me winning that bottle. I won fair and square."

"Screw you, you two just wasted that thing."

Marco, caught up really quick on what bottle they were talking about, it didn't bother him knowing Janna brought it to his house, he was busy smiling at the little fight his two friends were having right now.

Tom granted that one to her. "Maybe we did, but what were you even planning on doing with that? Pint-size like you couldn't even handle the drink."

This hurt Janna a little bit, not that she was even that used to drinking, she mainly did it at parties and even then she only drank a little bit. It was being taken lightly what really bothers her when people underestimate her based on appearance or first impressions.

But what she totally loved more is proving those people wrong. "Oh yeah douchebag, you think you can drink me under the table asshole, why not put your mouth where your words are?"

Tom left out a chuckle at her comment, Marco knew what she meant, but the phrasing could have been better. "I think his words and mouth are in the same place actually."

"And how will we do this anyway?" Tom was intrigued by the direction the night may be going.

Janna thought for a moment. "Well, we have two six packs on the fridge..."

"What?! You brought beer?"Marco was quick to react to her comment.

This didn't stop Janna from talking. "Let's bring them here, we shotgun those bitches, the one that can finish theirs faster wins."

Marco had to intervene, knowing this was up to no good. "No guys, you two promise no alcohol tonight, besides..." He could not finish as Tom spoke his mind.

"Ok creepy girl, you are on!" This just won him Marco's death glare. "Relax Marco, first of all, it will be just the two of us, and is all in good fun, and we can just do half now the other later." Still, Marco did not drop the glare.

"If we space them, they wouldn't hit pint-size here that hard." He won another death glare, this time from Janna.

"C'mon Marco, give me a chance to shut this guy up."

Marco had to give it a quick thought, maybe he was being a stick in the mud right now, and a half drunk Tom may be safer to deal with when he needs to talk to him.

"What the hell, knock yourself out..." This brought cheers from his two guests, which he had to wait for them to fade, for him to follow. "But only the beer and I reserve the right to call this off if and when I see fit."

He was sure that the empty chairs got the message, not so sure about his two guests, that were already half way to the fridge, he could hear a little bickering and the two of them quickly came back with some beers whose brand he recognized.

He gave them a surprised look as the two of them sat on the floor in front of the table in the middle of the living room. "Hey, gonna be honest, I thought that Tom would have brought some weirder stuff."

"Oh, don't worry I did, but for now we decided to start with the soft stuff and move up from there." 

Janna was quick to rush thing up. "Yeah, yeah, let's go already! Before this go warm."

Tom nodded and both of them pick up a can for themselves, they open them up but before they started one more thing needed to be settled. "Hey Marco, you are gonna be the judge here, if demon boy here cheats again be sure to catch it." Marco nodded and Tom gave her a determined look.

It was a fast chug for Janna, it wasn't her first time playing this kind of game, but it was the first time going against a demon, as soon as Janna put her can down, Tom was just watching with an already crushed beer can on the table.

"Too slow girl, and I was going easy there for you." She just wanted to tear that smug smile from his face, she quickly looked at Marco to determined if any foul play was in place.

"I saw him down that thing, you missed him for a few seconds." He was not impressed friend's this whole game, but he didn't look like he had any reason to lie anyway.

Janna was not one to get herself be intimidated. "Ok, next!" The two teens grab a beer can each and quickly began chugging, Tom wasn't going to slow down anytime soon, so this was a quick victory for him as well, he just loved messing with this girl that he had just met, but he didn't want this to be over so soon, so maybe he will need to throw Janna a bone.

"Ha! Eat it pink skinned man, guess I'm not a lightweight like you thought, well what are we waiting bring the next round!" She felt fire up like she could take anyone at beer chugging right now.

"Janna first of all, that was just the first round, and you lost it, second I said you guys would rest in between beers, let it sink for a bit." Marco was stern about this condition and both his guest agree.

For a moment there was silence in the room, just Janna giving Tom some nasty looks and him smiling at them, but not before long, Tom spoke up.

"Hey, how's Star doing these days." Marco's face suddenly dropped, the sadness in his eyes could be felt by the two teenagers, but he changed quickly to his smiling face.

"Well she's been pretty optimistic lately, she was actually looking forward to visiting Mewni and talk her parents into dropping this waltz thing." He had to force that hopeful look in his eyes.

"And you really think that her plan is going to work?" Janna just hit the right spot with that question.

Marco thought for a second, wasn't this why he invited Tom over in the first place? Just to he could vent up to someone. "No, of course not. I mean, even if the stupid thing wasn't just a week away, her parents are not the kind of people to just back up from this decision."

His two guest had their full attention at him right now, kind of shocked at the moment, they weren't prepared for this kind of reaction, especially from their quiet, safe kid of a friend, but at the same time, they both knew that he need it at the moment.

"She thinks that just sitting down with them will be enough to change things, is not that simple, even I can see that and still... I hope that she is able to do it, I really do... I just can't bare the thought of her marrying some..." He was almost ready to get to the point of this whole night, but still, he wasn't ready to come out with it.

He suddenly realized how awkward he made the room feel. He screwed up and didn't know how to bring it back to fix it.

"Wow..." Janna brought the attention to herself with that reaction. "I think the beer just got to my head."

Tom laughed at her and quickly responded. "I think is time to continue our game, go get the beers for us won't you?"

This shock Janna up. "Why me? You have functional legs don't you?"

"Well you did lose the last round, and maybe walking around will help you with the alcohol." Suddenly Janna shoot a look towards Marco signaling him to say something or go get the beer himself.

"I think is fair Janna, you lost and you were the one that came up with the idea, besides is just going to the kitchen." She just sighed while getting up and made her way to the fridge, not even a minute later and she was already sitting on the floor with Tom and opening two cans of whatever demon boy brought.

"Ok, I kinda wish you waited before opening those two, at least after I explain what it is." He cleared his throat while holding a can up in the air. "This here is a really special kind of beer around my dimension it's thirty percent alcohol and even cold like this, it's going to be a little harsh on our throats." Janna was just looking at the can on her hand, while Marco was surprised that Tom thought of bringing those here like he was going to drink them.

"So as you might be thinking, this isn't the beer you chug, I doubt this is even the kind of beer you drink from time to time, so if you want to call it quits..." She didn't even give him time to finish.

"What now you gonna chicken out on this demon boy, let's do it!" Again it was that determined look on her eyes that fire the competition up.

They began drinking, fast, Tom was not ready for this quick start and began having trouble halfway through. Janna, on the other hand, pushed through the pain via stubbornness alone, at the end, the winner this time was Janna, they were in a tie after this one.

"Take that again Tom! Guess demonic beer is just my strong suit, apparently."

"You got lucky this time, Marco you signal the start of this one so that we are both ready." He said that glaring at Janna, who in return gave him a smug smile.

Marco was laughing at this point, those two were so entertaining to watch them clash. "Ok guys, at the count of three..."

The two teenagers were ready to go at the signal, as Marco said three the two began chugging once again. happily

"Who won Marco? You are the judge, tell her I won."

"What? Like hell you won, I spit mine way after you did, tell him, Marco?"

The two began fighting over who was the clear winner of this round, Marco began passing towels around and quickly shouted. "Guys, you two spit them at the same time, no winner, and I think that we should stop here, what would the winner get out of this anyway?"

Tom thought about Marco's suggestion for a second. "Yes, Janna, Marco's right..." Marco gave a small smile at hearing his friend understand reason. "Last time we played against each other we made a bet. I want to know I will get something out of you once I beat you again." Yes, it was too good to be truth.

"Oh, you want to make a bet? I never mentioned because just hurting your pride will be good enough, but now it's on." She tried to come up with options for a second but came back empty. "Marco you set the wager, tell us something good we can bet."

He was already against this about this game, so just to play along and move this as fast as possible he chooses the easiest and oldest route.

"Ok, the loser does one request the winner says, hows that sound?" Both teenagers looked at each other and quickly began to smile thinking of how they could humiliate the other, but suddenly their smiles faded as they looked at the last two cans sitting at the table.

"Deal." The two of them said in unison, they just needed a moment to catch their breath and mentally prepare themselves for the last round, when they signal Marco telling him they were both ready to start.

Marco was thinking if it was right to keep this going, Tom may be looking fine right now but the alcohol could hit him any second, and Janna was already tumbling while still sitting up, but maybe this was the opportunity he wanted. One more beer and Janna will be out for the night, and Tom null out in a few minutes, perfect chance to talk about what was bothering him.

"Ok ready?" The two held their drinks with a firm drink. "GO!"

Janna wasn't feeling any pain right now, so she just needed to chug faster than ever before. Tom on the other hand still felt the pain in his throat, but he was able to push through it, just at the last point when he felt a burp coming out at the worst possible time, this made him stop on his track, preferring air over the beer he was drinking.

With this their game was finish, Janna missed no time jumping around mocking Tom and his inability of keeping up with her, or at least she would, if she wasn't already kissing the floor, half awake and completely drunk. Tom, on the other hand, was just impressed at the skill, no, more like at the luck that Janna had in there, and he had to admit, this has been a fun night thanks to her.

"Damn, so you think she is going to alright? Crap! Do you think she'll remember the bet?" Tom raised a concerned point on the situation.

"Probably yes, especially since I'm going to tell her as soon as she wakes up." Tom gave Marco a look of betrayal, he hoped he was just messing with him, but his friend never dropped that smug smile of his.

"C'mon dude, I know her kind, not crazy but the creepy kind, I don't dare think what weird stuff she is going to make me do." He was going crazy over this bet.

"Well Tom you two did make a bet, and you did lose, as the judge appointed by the two of you I could never forgive myself if I didn't make you follow the arrangement." He received a death glare from Tom, after a few minutes they just laughed it off.

Tom just took a deep breath, he decided to cross that bridge when it was time, right now he just had a few minutes before the beers get to him, so this moment was as good as it ever going to get.

"So Marco, what's going on with you man? You had been wanting to get something out of your chest for a while I'm sure."

Marco wasn't expecting that question, but he was ready to open up at the moment, so what the hell.

"Well, you see... I'm in love with a girl I'm friends with..." And he almost froze up, even if he knew what he was feeling was true, for some reason he still found it hard to say it out loud. "Screw it. I'm in love with Star, and I can't accept the fact that she is going to have to marry another guy."

Tom responded with a flat. "Yeah, I figured." in shocked Marco to the bone.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Well, it was her or pass out drunk right here. I took no chances and waited for her to be out so we could talk." Marco still couldn't shake the feeling. "Hey if it helps, I'm pretty sure Star doesn't know it, yet." This calmed his friend a little.

"Still, I understand how you may feel, Star is going to have to get a fiance, which leaves you with a broken heart." He really could be more sensible about the situation, but right now he was tired and had no real way of helping his friend, other than being brutally honest.

"So what do you think I should do? I'm already out of ideas, reasonable ones at least. I mean if she manages to get out of her compromise, excellent, but if she doesn't?" Asking the real questions there.

"Well, if Star doesn't manage to free herself from the that, you could still tell her. Think about it this way, if she feels the same for you, then you two can think of some solution."

"What kind of 'solution' do you speak reach." He shot Tom a questioning look.

"Well safe kid, you are going to be two love birds on forbidden love, you could go to the video store and rent hundreds of ideas from there." Tom said as this was common sense.

"But we can't just run away from our lives and duties like that, or see her walk away never to see each other again, or kill each other, wow there are a lot of love stories where that happens now that I think about it." A list of movie titles flash before his eyes, but at the same time he was able to remember all of those movies when the couple ends happily ever after, and this gave him hope.

"Well, that's something that you should discuss with Star, especially after you tell her how you feel."

Marco thought about it for a moment, any conclusion that Star may come out with her parents, it was better for her to know how he felt.

"Yeah, you're right Tom." He quickly looked at his clocked, it was already too late, and he had a drunk girl to take care of. "Hey, could you help me get Janna upstairs?"

Tom gave his friend a questioning look. "Don't get any ideas, she is drunk, I can't just throw her out, help me get her upstairs so she could at least sleep this off in a bed."

With that last note, both of the boys got up and started carrying her, each one with one of her arms over their shoulders. "Janna if you are still half awake, help us with a little walking," Marco begged the almost unconscious girl.

They began going up the stairs, everything was looking fine, until. "Oh Marco, the alcohol just got to my head." With that, Tom began to stumble on the stair steps, this meant that the three of them began to fall down to Tom's side, Marco now had to pull double duty and pull all of them upstairs.

All of them barely manage to stumble to the top of the stairs. Marco had to let them go and stuck to the wall in order to maintain balance, Tom was able to hang to the banister, but this meant neither was holding Janna up, so she promptly fell down face first to the ground.

This suddenly woke her up. "Damn guys, learn how to treat a lady."

"Janna, we are trying to help you go to bed, but now you seem able to go yourself." Marco quickly pointed out.

"Yeah Janna, be grateful we didn't leave you downstairs." Tom, still trying to keep himself upright, had to make his feelings know. "Marco, this whole thing is messing me up real time, can you follow from here? I need to get to my own bed."

"Sure Tom, you know you should really cut down on the drinking."

"Yeah, you are not even good at it." Janna couldn't resist saying goodbye.

"Well thanks for everything Marco, Janna hope I never talk to you again, 'night." And with that, he made his exit via fire portal.

"Hey, Janna do me a favor and wait on Star's bedroom while I prepare mine for you."

"So forward safe kid, but then again, we already had a drink, where at least I had, a few."

"I'm happy sleeping on the couch, just go and wait in the bedroom, use the bathroom while you're at it I suggest." He directed her to his friend's bedroom and made his way to his own.

Janna was surprisingly more steady on her way to Star's bedroom, Marco thought nothing about it, he needed to get the room ready and he couldn't do it while taking care of drunk Janna.

He wasted no time getting his bed ready and grabbing some blankets for the sofa, still, he made sure to empty the garbage can and put it near the bed, in case his friend needed it in the middle of the night. He made sure to hide whatever he thought Janna may want to steal or mess around with and finally opened the window, he didn't want the smell of beer flooding his room.

"Hey Janna, everything's ready, let's go." He called his friend up, it took her a moment to walked into the room, she was sporting her famous smug smile, which made him suspicious.

"Wow a whole bed for myself, you didn't need to worry Marco." She just jumped into the bed and began rubbing her face into the pillow.

"Yeah, Janna I'm just that much of a nice guy, by the way, what made you so happy all of the sudden?" He tried getting some answers, but quickly realize that he won't be getting any, as his friend was already fast asleep on his bed.

"Ah, goodnight Janna, hope you feel better in the morning." He didn't felt like going back downstairs yet, she came to visit him because she was worried about him, probably, and he did come clean with Tom, so he did own her as much, probably.

"Janna I really don't know why you came here today, but thank you, it was a fun night, to be honest..." What's the damage on venting up a little? "You are always teasing me, and making fun of me, but I know that you are not doing it to be mean, you are one of my closest friends to be brutally honest."

"So really I think that your deserve to know..." He prayed so hard that his friend was really sleeping, and not just pretending. "I'm in love with Star, that's what's been eating me on the inside all this time..." He truly didn't have anything else to add there. "I told Tom while you were passed out, he promised not to tell anyone... so keep it to yourself, please."

With that last note, he grabbed his blankets, an extra pillow, and made his way downstairs. He couldn't really sleep right away, so he decided to clean up the living room and prepare a water pitcher for Janna in the morning, he couldn't fully clean the beer stained carpet, but that could be tended tomorrow. It was already midnight by the time he finished all up and decided to lay down on the sofa, he really hoped that Star was alright, and Tom, and that Janna wasn't puking her innards out in his bed, but at the end, he finally was able to sleep.

This was pretty much what Marco told Star about his Saturday, with the exception of some hidden truths and twisted facts, but Star was relieved at having her doubts cleared. Just to be sure, she discussed what Janna had told her the night before when she called home. Marco quickly shot those accusations down, but that reminded him of something.

He quickly went to the kitchen and came back with a cold water pitcher. "Could you be so kind as to bring this to Janna, and wake her up, please."

"Sure Marco, I just hoped she doesn't have a huge hangover." Said with the biggest grin she could muster while she quickly ran upstairs and met up with her friend, she made sure to close the room door as hard as she could on her way inside.

"GOOD MORNING JANNA!" As she screamed her friend quickly jumped out of bed, her head hurting like never before, and those loud noises were not helping her.

"Star, could you please be a little quieter?" She begged the girl that just entered the room.

Star stomped a few steps to the bed and made the point of slamming the water pitcher she was holding into the nightstand. "Here girl, Marco sends you this from downstairs, where he slept, ALL NIGHT!" Oh, she just loved getting payback for that little prank Janna pulled on her yesterday.

Janna just downed that pitcher, she knew how much she needed that water, but still, she needed to tell Star something important, in between drinking of course. "Star... I'm sorry... last night..." She quickly let the pitcher down and took some air. "Star I know what is wrong with Marco!" This caught the attention of the other girl in the room.

"WHAT?!"

"Star please watch the volume, and yes I heard him said it while I was half sleeping."

This just earned her an incredulous look from Star. "Janna you were drunk yesterday, and you already lied to me, how can I believe you now?"

Janna had already finished all her water but still felt thirsty. "I already told you I was sorry, Star I had to drink a demon under the table, and you are not making me suffer any less right now, please just listen up."

Janna was just about to spill the beans, but then she felt a sickening feeling in her throat, she quickly ran to the bathroom and empty her bowels on the toilet, she couldn't stop it and Star was just losing more confidence towards her friend by the minute.

"Yes Janna, bet you wish you had heard Marco about being too young to drink." She just stood at the door frame of the bathroom watching her friend puke, she still was worried about her but decided to let her suffer for a while.

"Star..." She puck there. "Marco is..." and again. "in love..." and she continued.

"Yes, we figured that one out already, I'll go get you more water." Before she could get away Janna stopped her.

"NO! Wait..." She regained her composure for enough time to get her point through.

"Marco is in love with you." She could see her friend froze in her tracks. "He said it last night to that Tom guy, and then to me when he thought I was sleeping."

As soon as those words left Janna's mouth, another puke fest began showing at the same place.

Star just heard her words and was paralyzed, no way her best friend could feel that way, could he?

"Star could you get me some more water, please? I really need it." And then she began to puke once more, this was a heavy weekend for Star, and it didn't seem to get better from here.

"Janna! What else did those two speak about yesterday?" She just needed to know, just whatever that could confirm her friend accusations.

"They were talking about, you two running away together, now can I get my water please?"

Running away, just the two of them, that just sounded like the best idea ever.

Sunday of the last week and the waltz it's still going, maybe, just 6 more days left, if Star and Marco don't decide to skip on the whole thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this one was a fun one to write. I imagine Tom as a light feather when it comes to drinking alcohol, even amongst demons. Now that I think about it, with next chapter being about their Sunday, I made a chapter for each day of their weekend. Maybe I need to pick up the pace.


	10. Let me tell you how I feel. (Someday)

After a few minutes of Janna's puking session. Star came upstairs with Marco at hand, the two of them manage to sober her up enough for the rest of the day, and at the same time decided to help her get home. It was a long journey those few blocks, but they were able to bring her home safe and both of them said their goodbyes to their hangover friend.

The way home was quiet. Usually, Star would make the way home more lively, but how could she do that with the revelation that her best friend was in love with her? I mean, how could that even work? She was to choose a husband just next week.

This had to be an elaborate prank from Janna but at the same time, It fitted perfectly at the moment. Marco had been so obviously lovesick since last week and she was a perfect fit for the forbidden love cliche.

Anyway, she needed to tell him that the waltz was still going strong. As soon as they arrived back home, Star signaled her friend to the living room and both of them sat down to talk.

"So, how it went with your family?"

"Not good, I couldn't convince them to shut it down. I'm still going to have to choose a prince to marry next week." She didn't say this with sadness, angst nor rage. She just said it like she would break any other news to him. Yes, it still affected her but was trying to hide it as much as she could.

Marco was not surprised, he knew this was the most probable outcome. Still, he felt a huge knot forming in his throat and heart. This may hurt him more than at the long run, but he needed to keep his mouth shut and his feelings locked up. Star needed him now more than ever.

"But tell me, what did they say to you exactly? Why didn't it work?"

She remembered the talk with her mother. "I told her all that we talked about. How I don't need anyone to get to my full potential, and mom told me that she wasn't doing this to give me a leash..." She began looking deeper into that conversation, looking at it in hindsight. "Well, not only for that..."

"She said that I was royalty first, magical girl second. So having an arranged marriage is her way of preparing me for that life. To give me a bit more of 'stability' for when I need to become Queen."

"... And how do you feel?" He tossed away the words he wanted to said, but at the same time, he was surprised at the attitude his friend was showing about all of this.

How did she feel? She surely didn't feel alright about being forced to marry some random prince, but for some reason, she wasn't feeling fury nor sadness. She hadn{t had a chance to thought about how she felt for a while. Probably because she was pranked by Janna a few hours after the talk with her mother and that took over her train of thought.

"I felt sad at first, but at the same time, I understood what she meant..." Marco began looking at her with sad eyes. "Marco, this thing may be alien for you, because it actually is. But I really should have seen this coming. I'm a screw up at being both royalty and the user of the magic wand... maybe this..."

Marco stopped her before she continued. "No Star, you aren't a screw-up, you're the most awesome girl that I know. I'm sorry that you have to go through this, you don't deserve this... And I'm sorry that I can't help you at all."

"You're here with me right now, that's the best thing you can do for me..." She just had to ask that question, the doubt was killing her. "I mean what else could we do?" Maybe shouldn't have said that. She was sure Marco was feeling like crap right now, even if he didn't felt anything about her.

He felt powerless in this situation, not a new emotion for him the past few weeks. Again, he didn't have any ideas about what to do, so that question just made him feel worse right now. Then he remembered what Tom said to him last night. He needed to decide if this love story was going to have a happy ending or not.

Quickly thought, Star spoke up before he could. More for the need to back away from her original question. "Oh, by the way, I want you to have this." She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, it was the invitation that her mother gave to her while on Mewni. "Marco Diaz, you have the honor of being invited to Princess Star Butterfly Bachelor Waltz. I hope to see you there, and don't forget the present." She giggled a little while she handed the invitation to him.

She didn't plan on this, she picked up the invitation while her mother showed her the sword in the stone and had forgotten to give it back. Had she just tossed the dress she was wearing that day to the laundry, the invitation would have been lost forever. "My mother lets me invite the girls for the night, but I knew she was going to say no if I mentioned you. So lucky us, you will be able to see when I ruin my life."

He laughed at how Star was able to 'smuggle' this back. Well, now he had no excuse not to be there when she needed him most. "How is the night going to be anyway?"

"You are going to pull a sword from a stone to prove your determination and be allowed pass the entrance, which you should have no problem with that." Marco was almost shocked when he was reminded of that point. Well, he was sure he's in love with Star, that would give him enough determination, right?

"The next two things will be the presents and dancing with the princes. So we can talk in between dances and after the presents are handed."

"Sounds like a boring night, good thing we are not going to be there alone..." He felt an idea forming on his head, it scared him but at the same time, he was totally on board with it if Star was thinking about it.

"Are you... going to do something that night?" This confused Star. "I mean, you are going to bring Pony Head and the girls, and I'm just saying... If you happen to be planning on wrecking the whole thing... I think you would want all the help you can get."

It wasn't a bad idea. She needed to think about it for a moment but arrived at the same conclusion anyways. "No, Marco, I'm not planning on doing anything crazy at the waltz. It's a good idea though, I need to talk to Pony Head so she doesn't get any weird ideas either. Thanks for reminding me..." The two of them just looked at each other in silence, they had so many questions for the other. But maybe right now wasn't the place to ask them.

"Why is the dragon snack platter beside the sofa anyway?" Anything to move from the awkward topic was welcome right now.

"This thing, I felt like I was going to need the extra protection if Tom went berserk last night. Thankfully, I didn't need it... It's weird you know, how I'm friends with your ex. Wish I have one so we can be even."

Maybe she needed to come clear about something else too. "I already met your ex, Marco..." Marco just knew who she was talking about. Knowing this didn't make him felt any less fearful about what the two of them might have talked about.

"I spoke with Hekapoo last Thursday while you were gone with Tom, sorry. I was just so worried about you and she was the only option."

He just needed to know. "What did you two talked about? You already know about us dating for some time."

"She told us that you two were going to get married, to be honest, she seemed like a good girl. How was it dating her?" Maybe she needed to start thinking before talking.

Well, he did want to change the subject. "It was fun, like, really fun, and she is surprisingly a good listener and sweet person, once you get to know her obviously." But he really didn't prepare for the next statement.

And Star wasn't ready to listen to her own advice either. "Maybe you should have married her..." Some questioning looks were shot her way. "I mean, even if all those other dimensions did mess up with your head, you two spent so much time together, didn't you felt bad about it?"

Marco was ready to say something hurtful. Then he remembered that, for Star, getting to know the person she was going to marry was a luxury at this point. "Of course it felt horrible Star. I mean, I cried myself to sleep so much I had to get Nachos to stop feeling alone. Other times, I just wanted to beg her to take me back."

He needed to watch his words right now, this was threading on dangerous terrain. One wrong word and he may spill the beans about his feelings. "But every time I was about to do it, I remember why it would never work. It just wasn't real love..."

This was a topic that he had been juggling on his head for a long time now, and he needed to share it with her. "I just hope I made the right decision you know? I hope that I didn't miss my chance at happiness."

Star noticed how depressed he started to look, and at the same time, blame herself for bringing this topic up. "Marco I'm sorry about bringing it up. Don't talk like that, I'm sure that you will find someone to be happy ever after, c'mon cheer up!" This really was killing Star, she could use this as a jumping point to question Marco about what Janna said to her. But she needed to think about her best friend's feelings first.

Marco needed a few moments to compose himself. Star shouldn't be consoling him, it was supposed to be backward. Now that he thought about it, he had accepted the fact that he didn't love Heckapoo a long ago. But never stopped questioning what might happen if he had taken that path, and that put his mind in a different perspective.

"Hey Star..." He wasn't going to miss this change. "I think I do have an idea about what we could... should do about it." He was scrambling inside, trying to find the right words at the moment. He didn't want to come out too strong.

"I mean... how would you feel about... you know… just the two of us..." Star was more and more close to Marco by the minute, she began blushing so hard. Could her bestie really be about to ask her that? Just spit it out, Marco.

"We skip it?"

This wasn't what Star expected. "What do you mean skip it. Do you really expect my parents not to come looking for me when I'm not here Friday?" Marco didn't know that she needed to go back so soon but still, he had his chance.

"Well then... let's run away..." Yes, he just went and said it. He could read his friend's expression, which wasn't hard. She gasped at her surprise, she even covered her mouth with both hands.

"Yes, Star, I'm not joking, we can run away. Next week is the last till spring break, is no secret that some students don't even bother with it. Then is two weeks free of school, not to mention that I have my own dimensional scissors..." He was half venting half enthusiastic about pitching this idea to his friend. He was coming out with all of this at the moment but he was speaking the truth from the heart.

"We can even go get Nachos, I'm sure you two will get along just fine. We have a literal pile of gold in your room, we can make it last for a long time." When he finished he just gave her the sweetest eyes he could muster. It was mostly just hopeful ideas, but at this moment it was all they had.

Which broke Star's heart that she had to be the voice of reason this time. Too bad thought, it sounded like a good plan. "Marco cmon, you can't be serious. Besides, you know not the kind of connections she can pull, they would find us in less than a day." She watched as her friend quickly deflated, his smile turning into an empty look in his eyes.

"And, what brought you to think like this? Is just not like you. Does this whole waltz really bothering you that much?" She knew the why of this but wanted confirmation about her suspicious.

"It's just that..." Could he really come clean right now? "I don't want you..." He needed to be fully honest. "I couldn't take it... seeing you marry..." Star's eyes almost bulged out of her skull, was she really hearing this from Marco? "Marry someone... other... than..." He got cold feet as he was going to said that last word.

"What was that?" Star was almost dying at this moment, she could probably put two and two together right now, but she needed to hear it from him.

Again, Marco was getting cold feet but it was now or never. "Star I..." She was about to gasped at that but manage to cover up her mouth at the last second. "Don't know how to tell you this..." Well, she got excited there for nothing.

The two of them were suddenly interrupted by Mr. Diaz entering their house calling the two of them. This fully shocked the two teenagers, which quickly jumped out of the sofa and avoided eye contact for the rest of the day.

Speaking about the rest of the day. It went by quickly once Mr. and Mrs. Diaz arrived from their quick holiday away from town. All of them had lunch together while talking about their own weekends, and Star had to break the news that her arranged marriage was still going to happen. She still received support from her surrogate family which made her so happy being so close to them.

Still, both Marco and Star weren't able to talk to each other, much less even look at one another without blushing like crazy. Marco's idea was shot down already, and even though he couldn't really say it. He knew Star wasn't stupid, she had already figured him out. Picking this topic again in the near future may be a bad idea.

At night, Star was unable to sleep. Marco just, almost, confess to her. She was dying with all these kinds of emotions going up on her mind. All the questions being brought up. More importantly, what was she going do about this? She needed help, but it was already twelve at night, so all her friends were already sleeping. So they could wait for the morning, but now she needed to talk to somebody that understands her.

But wait! She has somebody just a few doors over that totally understands her, Marco. Maybe she just needs to vent up a little, and he is probably already asleep. So she doesn't need to worry about watching her words... eh, what the hell, her life was already going to be ruined in less than a week anyways.

She quickly made her way to the door that separated the bathroom from Marco's room, she pressed her ear into it and kept quiet. She heard no sound coming from the other side, with the exception of snoring, but no crying, talking, or any weird noises that may suggest Marco was still awake. Just to be sure, she opened the door with extreme caution, she looked at him sleeping, still holding that bunny plushy.

As quiet as possible, she walked on her tip toes till she was barely touching his bed. He looked so peaceful sleeping there, but she needed to talk fast, at the risk of getting caught.

"Hey Marco, hope you are not listening right now heh..." She cleared her throat. "Hey about what you said before in the living room. Sorry, but we can't run away, it was a cool plan, to be honest. If it had any chance of working out."

"And about your... almost confession..." This was harder than she thought, and still easier than saying it to him awake. "I'm sorry Marco, and this is one hundred percent my fault..." She almost began tearing at her words. "You are the sweetest guy I've ever met, my best friend, and we just go so well together. I never even noticed that last one before. I'll totally date you if this whole waltz thing wasn't just around the corner."

She was right, this was her fault, and now that she knew how Marco felt about her, she felt even worse knowing how much this will hurt him. "I promise that even though I have to get marry some idiot prince, we will still be friends. Nothing will change between us, at least I hope so." After her short speech, she just stood there looking at him. Half making sure that he was really sleeping, another half just looking at him so peaceful. She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead, still getting no reaction from him.

She exited his room just as quietly as she had entered. This surprisingly did helped her get some sleep for the rest of the night. She was still depressed, but more at how her best friend might be feeling about everything. Maybe if she knew about it before she could have approached the issue with more time and subtly.

Marco on the other hand? What's worse? Being turned down by the love of your life, or being sleep through all of that. By morning, the only hint that Star might have been in his room was her faint smell, and she went inside his room so much that this raised no suspicious from him.

Still, he felt that he needed to keep quiet about his feelings. Star didn't need this new weight over her shoulders, she probably already knew it all, but he didn't need to remind her anytime soon, or ever now that he was thinking about it. Star was in desperate need of a friend right now, and that's what he was going to be, no matter the cost.

They still made it to school, but they were surprised at how normal everything felt, it was like the talk yesterday didn't happen at all, they still talked like usual on her way to school, they made some plans to hang out together for the rest of the week with their friends. This reminded Star that she needed to talk with them as soon as possible.

At lunch time, Star gathered her friends around at an empty classroom used for storage. "So Star, what do you wanted to talk about?" Starfan was the first to spoke up.

"Just a moment, I need Pony Head to answer her pocket mirror." As soon as she said that, her on mirror connected. "Yo girl, what's the matter B-fly? You never call so early."

"Ok, so now we are all here, I need to tell you something..." She had a whole list to talk about, but first thing first. "I'm still going to have to choose a husband." The girls were silent, she received some sympathetic looks from all of them, and Jackie put a supporting hand on her shoulder.

"Well that's one thing, second, mom told me to invite you four. So if you can make it for this Saturday just confirm to me, I'll send a carriage to pick you all." Still, she didn't sound especially cheery about it, but all of them understood that she need them for that night.

"You know that I'll be there for you Star, just tell me what kind of dress you'll wear and we can match." Starfan still had her priorities straight.

Pony Head was more than happy for being there for Star, and she probably would have broken into the event, to begin with. "Yes girl, I can't believe that you manage to get your mother to let me inside the castle again."

"But Star, you need to tell them everything." Janna knew that Star brought them here for more than that.

"What's she talking about Star?" Jackie was suspicious at that sentence, coming from Janna, it could mean anything right now.

"Well, you see... I know what is going on with Marco." She received some puzzled looks from her friends, she wasn't feeling sure about saying this out loud.

"We were right, Marco is feeling lovesick... because of me... Marco is in love with me, well I think."

That whole sentence gave her different reactions from all across the room, she herself gave Janna a look as to signal her to speak up, which she did.

"Saturday I visited Marco, and Star's demon ex was there too. After a few drinks I kinda passed out, well half passed out. The point is that I heard him spoke to Tom about how he felt and that Marco and Star should run away together."

All the looks were on Janna right now, a shock one from Jackie, and a hopeful one from Starfan who was now squealing. At the same time, nothing came from Pony Head side, and the line suddenly disconnected.

"Well, there goes Pony Head, so much for being my best friend. Starfan please take a breath."

Starfan dropped her face back and took a deep breath. "Tell me Star, tell me that you said yes, how romantic would that be, two lovers on the run, trying to love each other while the whole world is against it."

She was just prancing and spinning around the empty classroom, just blabbering about her own world right now.

"And there goes Starfan, please Jackie, tell me I'm not going to lose you."

"Of course not Star, I'm here for you, and I'm sure Starfan and Pony Head too. On their own way, but tell me..." She had to get all the facts directly from the source. "Did you confront him about it? What he tell you?"

"We talked a bit, he did tell me about running away together. we are not going to do it just so none of you go crazy, talking to you Starfan." Those words came to deaf ears, but it did gain her attention once more. "Just listen before you get any ideas."

"But Staaaaaaaaaaar." Her pleas weren't listened, just met with no a nonsense look from Jackie and Star. "Ok, I'll stay quiet." She just stood aside from Star quiet.

Jackie retook the conversation. "And what about... you know... did he confess?"

"Yes..." You could hear the girls gasping from outside the classroom. "Not really to be honest. He almost got his confession out but we were interrupted, and since then we hadn't really talked about it..." She decided to keep quiet about their 'talk' that night.

"Yeah but, Marco is not stupid, he probably already knows that you know." Janna had to speak her mind, otherwise, this conversation may not go anywhere.

"I know that. I just thought that maybe, you know, if he doesn't want to talk about it there's no need to bring the topic up."

All the girls knew this was not the way of doing things. Jackie especially, Marco had been crushing on her for years, and only when he came up and said it he was able to forget his crush. Janna just last weekend heard how much he was hurting over this from the guy itself, and Starfan knew from all of the love stories that the two of them needed, to be honest, that hiding the truth or avoiding it was just as bad as lying.

"But Star, the guy is in love with you. You at least own him to be upfront with him, especially for Marco, he has been for you through all." And Jackie knew first hand that Marco was not one to talk so freely with the girl he had feelings for.

"Besides, you may not even have a chance to do this after next Saturday. I say take him on his offer and run away..." Janna had a point that she was going to, but was quickly interrupted by Starfan.

"And send us invitations for the secret wedding. I'll be the maid of honor obviously, send us photos of all the honeymoon, then you can get settled in a quiet peaceful dimension, and and and..." Quickly she was hit by one of Star blasts, a little one, right on her throat. Starfan didn't feel any pain, but her voice was suddenly gone.

Jana saw her struggling to talk. "You did this to yourself Starfan, she is going to be ok right Star?"

"Yes don't worry, but I just needed her to quiet down for a moment. I swear we are going to get found out with all the sound she is making." She took a moment to catch her breath.

Still, Jackie had one last question to do today. "And how do you feel about it Star?" Her friend quickly planted her eyes on her. "I mean, you know how Marco feels, but how do you feel about him." Star began to look even more puzzled after her words.

"Star if you don't feel the same for him, that's more of a reason to talk to him about it. I feel like it will be best for you to turn him down gently before it's too late."

Star thought about that for a moment. "Maybe I just don't want to lose him, as a friend I mean. If I go out and break his heart maybe he will never want to see me again, and I really am scared to lose him in more that one way."

Starfan began to jump around in front of her friends, like trying to call their attention while pointing at her mouth. "No, not yet, if you want to talk find some paper." She was scolded by Star.

"But Star that sounds awfully... selfish to be honest, the guy deserves better." Janna talked on defense of Marco, but her comment just made Star feel worse.

"I know girls, but I really can't bear losing my best friend. I'm going to need him to be able to go through the waltz, and I would prefer to die than to break his heart." She poured her heart out in front of her friends, she knew how selfish she sounded at the moment, but wasn't she allowed some of that at the moment?

Starfan just got in the middle of the girls and quickly began pointing at her mouth and then at the door looking scared and anxious. "Dammit, Star is opening her heart to us, I'm sure you can wait till the bell rings." Jackie was not happy that she ruined the moment there. But Starfan didn't stop she went even crazier with her movements. "Ok girl, if it makes you calm down for a second..." Star quickly shoot her again with the same magic blast, Starfan quickly took a deep breath before shouting at top lung.

"WE'RE BEING WATCH!" With this she pointed at the classroom door, this made all the girls jump out and look at the door.

"Crap, SCATTER!" A female voice screamed from the other side of the door, and a lot of steps could be heard. As Star and her friends manage to open up, there was nobody there.

"Dammit Starfan, couldn't you have said something." Janna didn't watch her words right now.

"Well excuse meeeeeee Janna. I was hit by a silence spell, why did you think I was begging for you to dispell it?" She quickly got mad at Janna for her comment.

"Oh yeah, and why didn't you just opened the door instead of just wasting time with us?"

"I didn't want them to run away, which I totally let them do when I got overly excited and scream there... sorry," Starfan said meekly.

"Girls please, forget about it right now. we are going to need to go back to class in a few minutes." Jackie then faced Star. "Don't worry Star, we can talk about this later, but I still suggest you talk with Marco."

"Thanks, Jackie I'll think about it. Sorry Starfan that I hit you with that spell, and Janna, thanks for the help this weekend, honestly girls you are the best."

The four of them group hugged and quickly made their way to their classes, none of them found out who was listening to them back there, but in the end, it didn't matter, Star was able to get some clarity and calm her emotions of all this predicament.

She needed to make the choice of speaking to Marco, wait for him to do it, or just never touch the topic again. Something inside her told her that the two of them were going to have to talk about it soon and that she was going to be the one to start the conversation.

But for today, another day at school was over, Star and Marco were ready to start making their way back home, till suddenly just outside the school, they were ambushed by one Princess Pony Head.

"There you are Earth turd..." She had the crazy eyes, her hair was a mess and she was cover in dirt. "When Star called me I made my way here, but you weren't home, so I talked with your parents... nice folk by the way." She was getting closer and closer to Marco and getting more in his face.

"They told me you were at school so I jumped out of the window and made my way." She suddenly let the intimidating act drop while she began ranting like crazy. "But I didn't know where your school was, so I thought just to walk around till I found you... And in between getting lost in the woods, fighting those wild dogs, and wasting my money on a sucky burrito. I hate this dimension even more now than ever."

Star was speechless at the moment, Marco was scared at what Pony Head may do in her current mood. "Ok, Pony, sorry you had a bad day here on Earth, but tell me, why did you want to talk to me that bad?"

"You see I heard you were planning to take off with MY best friend here." She signaled to Star, which was now frozen still just watching her friend having a crazy episode. "How dare you, Marco? Did you want to ruin Star's life? You really thought that stupid plan will work?" Marco felt more scared than guilty right now.

"An amateur like you taking Star away? Bet you haven't done it ever in your life, you need to plan this thing, have contacts, know the most important locations, and how to stay hidden from anyone that may try to find you." She was looking less intimidating and more enthusiastic by the minute.

"You two should have contacted me the moment you thought about this idea. I'm offended about this Star, so why don't we all get clean up, get something decent to eat, and talk about this on the way home?"

Star tried calming her friend now. "No Pony, you can join us for dinner, but no we are not going to run away."

Both Marco and Pony Head's face drop at her comment, but only Pony Head shouted back at her. "But girl, that's a perfect idea! You get a free pass on all of this, and then I don't know. But at the end, you get to live a carefree life and us hanging out every day." Pony head was just sounding more and more like Starfan.

"Pony Head, Star has a duty to her people, she can't just run away from her responsibilities."

This comment made Pony Head laugh while rolling on the air. "Since freaking when!!!"

Marco kept his cool and was able to give Pony Head the talk she needed. "No Pony Head, you need to understand that this isn't all fun and games. Star is going through a lot these days, she doesn't need some crazy ideas, she needs her friends, and by the look, Star has been giving you. I'm sure this visit disturb her as much as me."

The clarity suddenly hit her like a thousand bricks, Marco truly cared about her. Sure, he was the one that first came with the idea of running away, but he also has been there since she came to Earth. At this moment Star just wished that Pony Head knew how much Marco meant for her.

"What? So now you are getting cold feet Earth turd? Not man enough to run away with the girl of your dreams?" And she just dropped this bomb too casually, no matter that the two of them were avoiding having to talk about this whole topic, but Pony Head was so loud that students from school were beginning to gather around them.

Now, this was enough, Star needed to intervene. "Ok Pony Head stop it, you had your chance to talk about it when I called you before and you hanged up on me. You can't just come here at random and scream out loud something that private in the middle of school."

Pony Head was able to calm down and come to her senses thanks to her friend's words. Star had never talked to her that way before, for the first time in a long time, she was actually feeling embarrassed at a situation she herself caused.

"Sorry B-fly, I really am sorry about all this. I had a shitty day running all around town, and I'm hungry, and tired, and just so pissed off that your parents are making you go through all of this. I'm sorry again if it helps." She looked so guilty about her outburst, even Marco was moved at the serenity of her voice.

"Ok girls, nice talk but, could we get out of here? You can come home with us Pony Head if you want." Marco needed to move this reunion to a more private place, now that he was fearing someone at school might get the wrong ideas about this situation.

The three of them took a quick way back home, on their way Pony Head told them about her little adventure around town. How she became alpha of a pack of wild dogs, and how she left them because she wanted a burrito and some other little things that she had to go through on the day.

Back on the Diaz' household, all of them enjoyed dinner together. Star was surprised that she had been living with Marco for so long, and his parents never once spoke with Pony Head, and being fair with Pony Head, she was actually behaving herself on her time with them.

After the dinner, Star and Marco let Pony Head use the bathroom so that she could clean herself. After that, she excused herself and disappeared back to whatever dimension she was using to hide from her responsibilities.

The two best friends were still felt awkward in each other presence. They didn't need that surprise visit from Pony Head, it ended up being a nice visit but that left them tired and at the same time needing some time to readjust.

"Marco, I need to tell you, well maybe you already know. I told the girls about what we spoke yesterday, sorry."

"No Star, I kind of expected you to do it, there are just somethings even I can't help you with."

And then silence befall on the room, they knew what they should really be talking about right now, but how to approach it?

"Hey listen." They both spoke at the same time. "Please don't do this now." They got annoyed at how they did it again. "I really need to talk to you." They both facepalmed at this and waited, just to be sure that the other didn't start talking. "So about yesterday." They both screamed in frustration and at the same time and lay down on the floor looking at the ceiling.

"Do you think we can still be friends after the waltz?" Marco had to think about a question that he was sure Star wasn't going to ask.

That question made Star shiver, sure she had her own doubts about this, but how could Marco had doubts about it. "Of course Marco, how could you think that? No matter what happens or how much we change, nothing will ever break us apart."

Marco was genuinely happy hearing her said that, he truly didn't think that their friendship could end, but just being sure about it make him even happier. "Star, I need, to be honest with you right now."

Marco quickly sat up and crossed his legs, Star made the same and the two look at the other eye to eye. "So, about what we talked about Sunday and about anything I might have wanted to say there but I couldn't. I truly need, to be honest with you about it..." It was hurting to say this now that he was going to do it. "I just feel like, you are about to go through a lot of changes in your life. I don't think you need another huge one coming from you best friend. You are going to need a friend more than ever before."

Star sat there hearing his best friend, practically, turn himself down, but she understood why he was doing it. Part of her was thankful that he was the one doing the talking, but another one felt sad that all of this didn't happen under better circumstances.

"And you are ok with this?" She needed to hear it from her best friend's mouth, even if he was doing this for her, he still needed support.

Marco had to think for a second, he was just about to lie to his best friend at the moment, so he needed to mask that. "Sure I'm, it's not like we can't retake this topic later, you know, like next week, maybe... So if you excuse me, it's already late and we have school tomorrow."

Star didn't believe it, not for a second, but she knew this was as much as information as she was going to get tonight. She also knew she was tired and needed to get ready for bed.

Monday of the last week just 5 more days left till the bachelor waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter to be honest, but an important one to address. Next chapters will come in a bundle, just a heads up.


	11. Another (Not so normal), day in high school.

Marco and Star were on their way to school like normal. However, Marco was having a bad feeling today, it was eating him from the inside, and he made no effort hiding it either.

"Ok Marco, tell me, what's wrong?" This startled Marco a little before responding.

"Oh, sorry, I just have a bad feeling about today, to be honest, maybe I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today."

"Eh, you worry too much, besides just today and three more days till spring break. You said it yourself nobody even bothers coming to school these days. To me, it looks like we are going to have a boring day."

"Mmm, yes maybe you are right. Well, I need to go to my locker, see you in class!" Both of them went their separate ways at this point.

As Star walked around the school, she noticed a lot of stares shoot at her direction followed by whispers as she walked by. She didn't let all of this bother her as quickly met with Jackie, which seemed to be waiting for her by the lockers.

"Star!" Jackie quickly changed her voice volume to a more quiet one, this had to be said in secret. "Star we know who hear us talking yesterday, it was Brittany and her friends." This didn't sound good.

"But it's not only that, she spread a rumor around..." She herself heard it last night when some girls contacted her asking for details. "That you and Marco are dating... and that you are planning on dumping him."

That shocked and angered Star both at the same time. "But... but really who could believe that kind of lie? Is Brittany who we are talking about, pretty sure everybody knows she is full of it."

"Well, everybody already thinks that you two are dating, so convince them about that was easy. The part about you leaving him, that's just to be mean." She saw how Star began looking more and more frustrated by the minute. "I told Janna, she must be talking with Marco about it right now."

At this moment, Marco was being approached by Janna. "Yo, man, Brittany spread a rumor that you and Star were dating... I could've bet there was something else I should tell you, but maybe it wasn't important, see you later loser." And she just walked away.

Marco was just confused at that encounter. "Well, that was weird, and thanks Janna for the heads up. She could have done worse than this stupid rumor so, not worried."

Back to Jackie, Star was sure this was just the beginning. "But a little rumor about us two, why would she said that second part. Just to hurt Marco? Makes no sense."

"Don't worry Star, we will talk with her later, but now we need to ignore her."

With that last note, the two of them went to class, another boring and slow class, lunch couldn't have come any slower that day.It did not help that Star was anxious about this rumor, she could swear she got the stink eye from some people around the school.

Marco, on the other hand, thought nothing about the rumor, but at the same time manage to get the attention of some students. The weird thing was, he was receiving some sympathetic looks, some of the girls even made small talk with him about his false romance with Star. The boys were trying to cheer him up all of the sudden. He shot all of those comments down fairly quick, he didn't want to spare this nonsense any kind of time. It didn't help that Marco knew only half of the lie, so he wasn't preparing for any of that, or what might happen next.

It was at lunch time that Marco and Star got some time to talk together while eating. "Hey Marco, I think you already know the rumor going around?"

Marco laughed with Star at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. "Yeah Star, gotta said, so mean of you not telling me we were dating this whole time."

Both of them laugh. "Hey you never know, you are so absent minded. Maybe I told you and you never caught it." This was going to give them laugh material to last all spring break, at least they can thank Brittany for something.

Speaking of which. "But real talk now Marco, we need to talk to Brittany, at least so that we..." Marco interrupted her before she could finish.

"No Star, that would just fuel her, She would love us confronting her about this. Besides, is not like this is hurting us I said we forget about it and move on." This was insightful, but it was no surprise coming from Marco, he really was too mature for his age.

But then again, the two of them were still teenagers. They may not be able to avoid confrontation, as Brittany herself was walking towards them, with her friends behind her. "Hey, Star, don't you think you are being just too cruel with the guy?"

This, of course, won her a death glare from Star, she was about to get up but was stopped by Marco. "Brittany, first of all, shut up, secondly, I don't know what you are talking about. Do you really think people are so stupid that they will just believe all you said to them?"

Brittany just shot a mortified look towards him, obviously faking it. "Oh poor Marco, you don't even know do you? What your little girlfriend thinks about you."

Again she was just baiting them, just to get some strong reaction. "I think I know what my best friend thinks about me..." Emphasis on the friend part. "So please, leave us alone, we are trying to have lunch."

"Well girls, you think we should tell him what we heard?" The two cheerleaders nodded at her question. "Well Diaz you see... oh wait let us tell everyone too." She stood up on one of the seats and called for everybody's attention. "Hello everybody, you all know me, and you may also know 'safe kid' Marco… And Star Butterfly."

This was hitting Marco worse by the minute, his bad feeling turned out to be true. He tried keeping his cool, all while restraining Star from pulling her magic wand. The best and only option that he could come up with.

"Thanks to me, we now know for real that this two have been dating for a while. I mean, these two are inseparable, they'll do anything for the other, we are all witness of that."

Yeah, the adventures and incidents that these two had gone through together at school and around town were know by most of the students. "But I just can't go around on with my daily life knowing what I know. I'm going to be a good person and come clear with what I heard directly from her mouth."

She said while pointing at Star, which was still giving her a cold death glare. "You see our resident magical princess has been putting on the act of sweet girl, fooling all of us, even her boyfriend. I heard her talking with her friends about how Marco drop the 'L' bomb on her."

That was enough to make Marco drop his cool. "And I heard Princess here confessing how she never really like him, that she was just dating him for shit and giggles, and was trying to come up with ideas on how to dump him. I know this may be a private matter, but I really felt that we all need to know much of a two faced snake Star can really be, playing with her best friends feelings all of this time."

This speech won Star no sympathy from the students that gathered around him, and her friends were a little too late on crossing the wall of people in order to get to the center. All of them were ready to shout Brittany down, but the crowd won them to the pinch.

They began booing Star, accompanied with death glares of their own. "How could you Star, the guy literally put a roof over your head."

"Not cool girl, you don't get to play with a guy's heart."

And so on and so on. Star tried her best to shoot them down, but even with the help of her friends, she couldn't get her voice heard through the crowd. "No, please, listen to me she is lying to you."

"You are the only liar here."

Janna was not happy to whoever threw that insult. "Ok asshole is on! Who said that, want a piece of me too?" She began screaming at random people after that.

Jackie stomped towards Brittany, which was now ready to make her way away from the cafeteria. "Oh no Brittany, you don't get to walk away from this, tell them the truth!" She signaled Starfan to block their way out.

"You don't get to throw those kinds of insults to my idol and get away scot free."

"Oh cmon girls, you were there, yeah I may have twisted the facts a little bit, but can you say you honestly didn't get those vibes from her speech?" Her words had no effect on the girls, they were not going to believe anything Brittany said after that little stunt.

Star was getting overwhelmed at all the insults getting thrown her way, she was not used to being hated and she couldn't use her magic wand to escape this. On top of this, she was paralyzed, full of anxiety, and was busy trying to fight back tears.

What hurt her the most was that she still felt guilty about not being able to give Marco a chance. It hurt her and she didn't know the why of this feelings, and hearing this from another perspective hit her hard. She couldn't hold her tears now that she began thinking how much she must be hurting Marco.

Speaking of Marco, he didn't buy any of what Brittany said. He didn't believe it nor care about Brittany trying to hurt his feeling, but he could feel his blood boiling at all the insults towards Star. Still, he knew that going crazy the way he did back at the club was the worst he could do.

He saw Janna trying to pick a fight with the whole crowd. Jackie and Starfan having a shouting match with Brittany and her cronies, and he knew that he needed to get Star away from there. How could he pull this off? They were surrounded, he can't use karate on the other students, and he didn't think walking through the crowd with Star at hand was a good idea, besides, Star was crying now...

…Star was crying now... He was sitting right beside her but thanks to all the shouting he couldn't hear her, in fact, Star was holding his hand under the table with a strong grip at the moment and he didn't even notice that till now. He was done with all of this, he didn't care that he was going to see all these people for a few more years, nobody makes Star cry.

"Star help me real quick please." He was speaking just loud enough for Star to hear him over all this shouting.

She gave him a quiet look with her now sad eyes. "Trust me, do you have a spell to shut everybody up, except for us?" Star quickly thought of the silence spell, she just needed to make it an area effect.

Star pulled her magic wand and shoot her spell at the whole room, everybody was perplexed at their new inability to talk. They all look directly at the couple now, to which Marco call for their attention by standing up and shouting.

Marco's blood was burning at the moment, however, he still knew that losing his mind would only make Star more terrified than it will relax her. "Thanks for that Star, now all of you listen here, assholes. Star and I aren't dating and we never did, Brittany lied to you all, again. But what drove you all to turn against her like that?"

They all felt a huge rant coming their way. "Star is by far the greatest person that has come to this school. She is awesome, funny, and extra friendly with all of us. She has never done anything mean to any of you, out of spite or ill intent. But just because alpha bitch here says those lies about her you go and believe her?" Yes, he dropped that insult in front of everyone, it was so out of character for him but it made sure that his words end up engraved in their heads. He shot a disappointed look around the room, everybody looked embarrassed about all of this, even Brittany had the decency of looking ashamed of herself.

It was something on Marco's voice that brought all of them back to childhood being scolded by their parents. He really had a way with words in order to bring their thoughts together. Those that wanted to speak up couldn't right now, so Marco was free to speak his mind without being stopped.

"By tomorrow, if any of you hasn't apologized to Star out of your own free will, I'll make you do it myself." He shot another glare at the whole room, this one was full of deadpanned seriousness, just to make sure they know he meant business.

He got up with Star at hand. The two of them walked out the cafeteria and the spell disappears as the exited the room. It quickly dawned on Starfan, Jackie, and Janna, that they needed to follow them outside. The whole room still dead silent even though Star lifted her spell. They scatter after a few minutes of staring at each other.

Afterward, Star was sitting outside of the restrooms. The bell was about to ring but she was waiting for Marco. It was a quick wait, her friend got out of the male restroom, paper towels at hand.

He sat down beside her and began drying her tears. "Sorry that all of this happen to you Star. I was serious about that last part. I'll make all of them apologize to you if I have you." He was still angry about what happened, and she noticed it.

"You don't have to Marco, and you can stop that. I'm not crying anymore." She still felt sad, but now she was sure everything was going to be fine, thanks to her best friend.

The bell rang, which meant they needed to move on and get back to the classroom. "Star, I'm sorry but I really don't feel like staying for the rest of the day. Think I'll just skip the rest of the day. You stay here I want them all to say sorry to you before the day ends."

Star knew that her friend was as hurt by this as she was. "No Marco, I'll go with you, screw this place." That comment made Marco drop his serious face and began to laugh.

All of the sudden their three friends meet with them. "Yeah, screw school... what are you two talking about?" 

Janna was the first to talk, Marco answered her question. "I'm thinking about skipping the rest of the day, and I want you all to stay with Star and make sure nothing like that happens again."

"No Marco, I told you already I'm going with you. I don't want you to be alone right now." Star hold Marco's hand while she said this, and was not planning on letting go easily.

Jackie saw that Marco needed some time alone to calm down. "Star, don't worry I'll skip class with Marco while Janna and Starfan keep you company."

"Hey, I wanted to skip class too..." Janna made a quick remark.

"C'mon Janna, it will be like we are Star knights and all." Star was happy that she got to help her friend at her most dire hour. "Besides, Janna, you'll probably just bring Marco more trouble if he spends the day with you."

"Well it's decided, Star, anything happens you call any of us. Janna, keep the creeps at bay. Jackie, let's get our things quickly." Marco was able to get away from Star grip on his hand. "By the way, you all should get moving, class started a few minutes ago." Star, reluctantly, made her way to class with Starfan and Janna by her side, which left Marco alone with Jackie.

"Well dude, let's get our things before we get caught." The two of them quickly shuffle to their lockers and grab what they needed, then met outside of school ready to take their leave. They shared Jackie's skateboard, she brought another helmet for Marco to use and began making their way to the park.

It was a quick travel, made quicker as they were speeding like the wind and with only the essentials in the conversation aspect. The two friends made just one stop at the mini mart to get some snacks and drinks, none of them manage to eat their lunches whole thanks to the incident and they still were hungry.

Afterward, Marco sat at the bench fuming about what happened with Star, and how she ended up crying, all thanks to Brittany. "Marco, can we talk now? Or are you still trying to set fire to the school with your mind?" This comment took him by surprise, he didn't think he was looking that angry.

"Sorry Jackie, it's just that... damn, I really went off on everybody back there. I shouldn't have left Star there all alone."

"I think you could have handled that better, but you did all right there. You were looking for your best friend, everybody will understand that." She had the mission to chill the guy down, and as a friend, she swore to help him.

Marco thought for a moment about his reaction. "Tell me the truth, did I scare you? You think I make Star afraid?" He had already lost control before, and he could not take hearing those words again from someone he loves.

She was not there to lie to him, but she could soften some blows. "Well, you did look furious back there, you didn't yell or anything but seeing the safe kid snap at everybody was, surprising, to say the least." He was starting to feel worse by the minute. "But, you merely startle me and the girls, and Star was so beat up about everybody else's comments that she was more shocked that scared."

"So I didn't scare anyone then?"

"Heck no, some of them started to cry after you two left. You looked pissed the hell off right there, just me, Star, Janna, and Starfan know you better so that softened the scare. Marco, you threaten them all in their faces, and everybody believed you."

She made his action sound like the most awesome thing that happened in school ever but he wasn't feeling like that. He was completely disappointed at himself and how he handled everything back there. Maybe he shouldn't show his face back there anytime soon.

"It's just that, all of those things they said to Star, it pissed me off so much to hear them talk to her like that."

"It's that the only thing that bothered you?" She knew the answer to that, but Marco needed to talk about it, especially if he and Star weren't planning on doing it.

"What do you mean?" He gave her a confused look and received an uninterested look from Jackie, no use playing the fool.

"Ok Jackie, first of all, what kind of talk did Star had with you and the rest?" This made Jackie jump a bit, but she should've figured that he already knew that Star told them about their talk last Sunday.

"Well, no point lying now, she told us about your almost confession. That's why I'm asking, was the only thing that bothered you back there the insults?"

Marco began looking at the floor, he really didn't want to talk about this right now. Jackie caught up on his mood, but couldn't let him drop the topic, it was now or never. "Or was it what Brittany said?" He began to cover his ears, he didn't want her to finish. "That she heard Star saying she doesn't lo..." 

He quickly covered her mouth. "Ok Jackie, I'll be honest, just answer me one question..."

She already knew what that question was, so she answered it for his friend. "No Marco, she never said that, and I'm sure Star loves you. Just not one hundred percent sure in what way."

This lifted a huge boulder from his shoulders and brought another, smaller, one to replace it. But this one he was sure he could carry. "Thanks, Jackie, and now's my turn then..." He took a deep breath before starting.

"I know that Star would never do something to me with ill intent. But you know, the fear was there, not only that she doesn't feel the same way about me..." He had to make a pause there. "...But that I screw up telling her about how I feel, and that now I'm making her feel worse about her situation."

Jackie was shocked at hearing him vented up all of this so freely. "Wow dude, I mean, I understand what you mean, the fear of being stuck in a one-sided relationship it scares all of us don't worry."

"But Marco, I'll tell you this much. You two can't go around your lives ignoring this issue. I say fully confess to her, you two may not even have the time for that after this Saturday. I can tell this is killing Star as much as you."

This made Marco feel uneasy, he had so much trouble trying to confess last time this all went down. "Marco, I know that for you that may be difficult, to just come out and say it, and you know I know what I'm talking about. I'll even accept that you may have the worst timing to realize that you love Star, but you two are best friends. Every couple wishes to have the kind of harmony you two share."

He began smiling at Jackie's words. All of that was so true and he couldn't help but feel like the luckiest guy across all dimensions to have such an incredible friend, and for had met her in the first place. "So promise me, Marco, you two will talk about this, get this out of the way. Afterward, you two can run off or do whatever you want."

She talked about this with such confidence that he couldn't help getting himself fired up about all of this. Maybe the feeling will fade away after a few hours, but right now, he felt like confessing to Star in front of her parents and the whole court of Mewni.

And maybe he was showing it a too much. "Whoa calm down dude, you can speak with her after school, right now let's chill out. We have until school's end."

Both of them laughed at this, still, this turned up better than expected for Jackie. Those two may end up getting together by the end of the week. Can you blame her? She was sure that Starfan had rubbed that part of her personality onto her. Still, what matters here is that she was able to talk Marco into open up, now it was only a matter of praying for Janna and Starfan to convince Star to talk with Marco.

Back at school, Janna and Star made it late for their class, thankfully the teacher didn't really care for that. Last week until spring break and all, so in the end, it was just another boring period.

Not like that matter to Star, she had so much on her mind right now that school was not on her priorities. She couldn't stop thinking about Marco's almost-confession, and how he went out on everybody at the cafeteria. Suddenly a note just fell on top of her desk.

She quickly opened it up and read it in silence. "Sorry about what happened in the cafeteria, we should've never said those things to you. We acted like total idiots. Continue on the back." She quickly turned the note on the other side and read. "Please tell Marco we said sorry."

All around that side of the note were the names of all the other students of her class, this made her smile and decided to accept the apology. She didn't hold it against them, some of them were merely booing her, and she can take that.

But she was all out of sympathy for Brittany and her friends, they ever felt the need to apologize, they were going to have to do it in person. Still, this little gesture cheered her up more than she was expecting.

In between periods, Star received more and more sincere apologies from everybody that was against her before. They all ranged from the simple sorry to the full blown kneeling begging for forgiveness. Again she was sincere about accepting all of those that had the heart to admit they overreacted.

What made her happy was that some of them finish their apology with a variation of, 'tell Marco I said sorry'. She was reminded of the last time she told Marco that she needed a friend, not a knight. But never did she imagine that he could do both so good at the same time. Even Brittany's cheerleader friends came by to apologize, which it was more than she thought would happen.

But what got her attention more than anything, a little note that she found in her locker, it just read 'I want to apologize, in person, and in private, I'll be waiting for you in the empty classroom after class. B'.

Now, not only did this smell like another of Brittany's schemes, so she thought a few steps ahead and went with Janna with this. "So what's your take on this?"

Janna read it again just to be sure, she couldn't find anything weird about it, well no weirder than it seemed at first, so she just talked her mind.

"Well she already got busted in front of the whole school, but she is really prideful so I do buy that she wants to apologize in private so that nobody sees her when she does it."

Again both girls thought for a second about the note, Star wanted to ignore it and head directly home after school, but on the back of her mind. She couldn't help but imagine leaving Brittany alone in that classroom, and she couldn't pass on the opportunity to hear her say sorry about everything.

"I'll go, but, can you and Starfan go with me? Just to be sure, please."

"Sure Star, let's get together after class and go, all will be fine you'll see."

They both were happy about this decision and continue with school, and before they knew it, the school day was already over, and the three friends were waiting by the hallway in front of the empty classroom.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Starfan was getting anxious with this whole waiting business.

"For Brittany to come here, she should be making her way here, and I don't believe she isn't planning something."

Quickly the three of them saw the aforementioned girl coming down the same hallway, as soon as she saw them, she shot an angry glare at the two extra girls.

"What are you doing in here, I'm only talking to Star."

Not surprised by this, Starfan responded accordingly. "And you really thought we were going to leave you two alone? After what you did back at the cafeteria."

"That's why I'm here, I'm just apologizing to Star, not you two, now scram!." This surprisingly didn't have the effect she was hoping for. The three girls were not impressed by her attitude.

Star could only exhale at that comment. "Brittany, you ask me to come here, so you are the one that wants to talk here. So either we all get in there, or we can just walk away you choice."

Brittany quickly dropped her angry scowl for a more worried one. "Ok you win, let's get inside already."

The four of them went inside the empty classroom, Star and her friends sat on some of the broken desks, with Brittany taking point in front of them standing up, just looking for the right words on where to start this up.

"Well girl, we are waiting." Janna was sitting on an extremely uncomfortable chair and didn't have a lot of patience.

"Ok, ok, mmmmm, StarI'msorryaboutwhatIsaidtodayhaveagoodlifebye." She quickly tried to escape the room, but Starfan blocked her way.

"That was the most half-assed apology ever, why don't you try it again?" She said to Brittany with the sweetest voice she could muster, putting a helping hand on her shoulder, and pushing her back into her place.

Brittany looked embarrassed, she could perform in front of the whole school but just saying she was sorry made her shiver like crazy. She remembered to breathe, inhale, exhale, nice and easy. "Ok Star, I'll just say it and then we can close this chapter. I'm sorry I turn the school against you, how they treated you because of me, and for everything I said, the lies and all."

Star was just about ready to let her go, but she already had her there, all set up to answer anything that she wanted. "First tell me, why do all of that?"

"You mean aside from blasting me out of the restroom last week with a tidal wave of cherry lemonade? Well, damn Star, I used to be the most popular girl in this school till you came in. I had been thinking about how to get everybody to pay attention to me and forget about you for a long time." Again, just more uninterested looks getting thrown her way, it was Brittany all right, her shallowness showing, even when she wanted to be nice. "Besides, I'm not the one who shies away from turning a guy down."

This made all the girls jump from their seats. "What are you talking about?!" Star screamed in surprise.

"Remember? I was here yesterday. I heard you talking about how Marco feels about you and how you don't want to hurt him so you are avoiding the topic altogether."

Star was stunned at her comment, but that quickly turned into guilt, she had been doing that all right, but she was doing it because she genuinely thought this was best for her... No, for Marco! This what's better for him... Right?

Janna saw how disturbed Star had become. "Ok Brittany, you said you're sorry, get out now." She signaled to the door, but before she was gone.

"But Star, at least be honest with the guy, nobody deserves to be drag around like that." And with that, she was gone, off to think about her mistakes.

"Don't listen to her Star, she's horrible, remember?" Starfan was trying hard to cheer her friend up.

Star manage to think back at that moment and realize something. "I'm fine with that. It's what she said, that I was being horrible with Marco, and well you know, it's true."

"No Star, tell her Janna, tell her that she is the best one there is."

Janna thought for a second, she needed to say this as lightly as possible. "Well, she is trying to avoid the topic with Marco." She could feel Starfan trying to make her face explode with her mind.

"What? I'm serious, Star I know you feel nothing but love for the guy, and we all know he loves you even more. There's no way you would hurt each other on purpose, but... sometimes you have to hurt the people you care about BECAUSE you care about them."

She tried to put together her argument as best, and complete, as possible. She felt like she succeeded on both points. Now it was just a matter of taking whatever reaction her two friends hit her with after all of this.

Star was the first one to talk, Janna prepared herself for the worse. "Dammit Janna, you are right."

Starfan was keeping quiet, she didn't want to say it, but she couldn't take it anymore. She let out a small sigh before doing so. "Yes, she is right, dammit. But what do you want to do Star?"

The three of them stayed silent for a moment, with Star pondering that question. Marco just told her yesterday that he didn't mind not talking about this, but she knew that all of this was killing him from the inside. She knew what needed to be done.

"Yes it's true, I really need to bring the topic up with him again. I promise you two that I will, but first, I need to figure out what to say."

From her two friends point of view, this was taking a heavy toll on Star's mind. She was drawing blanks on what say to him.

"As long as this is what you want, there's no point in doing this if you are just going to regret it later." Starfan threw her own slice of wisdom, hoping this helped her on whatever she decides.

"Yeah Star, and, whatever happens, we will still be friends, even Marco I'm sure." Star gave her a sweet smile, this may be difficult to do, but she can be sure right now that her friends will be with her all the way.

Afterward, they all made their way to their respective homes. Star got home fairly quick in order to meet with Marco. As soon as she entered through the door, she met both Jackie and Marco sitting on the couch, talking, but still, she managed to get their attention.

"Star! How was school?" She was greeted by Jackie, which quickly stood up to hug her. "Nobody messed with you again right?"

"Don't worry Jackie, everything went fine, everybody said sorry to me, even Brittany!" She was feeling proud about it and made no effort to hide it.

"Wow, that's awesome Star, and I'm sorry but I need to get going. I don't want my parents knowing I skip school, goodbye Marco, see you two later." She picked up her things and made her way home, leaving the two best friends alone.

"Well that was a good day, hey tell me, how are you feeling?" Marco was worried about her more than he left out.

"I'm fine Marco, Janna and Starfan help me through the day. What did you two do all day?"

"Mmmm, first we went to the park, it was cool and all. Then we went to get some smoothies, and we stayed here. It was a very chill time with Jackie, to be honest."

"Good to hear! So, where are your parents anyway?"

"I guess they went to get something for dinner, but anyway. Do you want to do something before it? I think we still have time."

Star thought for a few moments. "Yeah, we won't have any time this weekend to go dimension hopping, but for that same reason I think that we should save our energy, I want to be at my best when I take on the waltz." Both of them laugh at her comment.

Besides, they both had a long day, so maybe getting some rest wasn't a bad idea. Their whole day was the two of them relaxing around the house talking about what happened to them. Doing their own schoolwork, and playing with the laser puppies. Even at night both of them rested all they could.

Tomorrow they were expecting a tough day, Marco was going to have to face the whole school after his little freak-out, and that was not going to be easy at all. But Star may have it worse, even though she already knew how to answer Marco's feelings. Saying it out loud was going to be harder than talking to him about it while he sleeps.

She decided to talk to him before the waltz, Thursday to be more specific. She could do it tomorrow, but she needed time to prepare herself for it, to think how to say it, and to be sure it felt right. If she couldn't do it right, then why doing it at all?

Wednesday came rolling and with it another school day. Marco didn't feel excited at the thought of going there again, but Star encouraged him to make an appearance. This helped him to push through the stares and whispers the two of them received while passing by, but even with all of this, the school was as boring as ever.

Afterward, when Star and Marco were having dinner back at home. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz had some news for the two of them.

"Kids, you will be happy to hear, that we are planning a trip for the holidays. We will go on a road trip to the beach, and visits some cities along the way." Mr. Diaz sounded so enthusiastic about the idea.

"We thought about bringing Star to know some great places on Earth, even if it's just the beach and some big cities, we are sure she will all love it." Mrs. Diaz elaborated more on their motives for doing this.

"That's awesome guys, I just need to talk to my mom, but don't worry we will have our road trip."

Marco was happier than ever about the news, he had always wanted to bring Star to see more of Earth so that she could know what beautiful place it was. Even though he was sure she was going to find it fascinating no matter where they went.

"Thanks a lot for doing this mom, dad, and especially, thank you for informing us early so we can prepare for it." They all laugh at Marco's way of going about preparing for everything, even with all this time to do it.

The rest of the dinner was full of talk about the trip, where they plan to go, stops along the way, all of it. For Star, it really sounded like the most awesome time she was going to have on Earth, as of yet.

After dinner, as soon as Star was in her room, she received a call from her mother. "Star, sweetie, how are you?" Queen Moon was being as polite as ever.

"I'm fine mom, what do you need?" She was begging for good news internally.

"Just to remind you that Friday you need to be back on Mewni after school. We will pick you up at your room, like last time."

"Thanks for the heads up mom... hey by the way. Think I can go on holiday with The Diaz's next week?" She quickly took this chance to ask for permission for the road trip.

Moon was extremely against the idea, at first, but then again. Star was going to choose a fiancé in a couple of days. So this may calm her down if anything went wrong. "Mmm, it's all right Star, but please, remember you are forbidden from going outside this dimension."

Star was happy about her mom decision to let her go and spared no expense showing this to her mother. "THANKS, MOM!!! YOU ARE THE BEST OH THANK YOU!!!" She began just hugging the mirror, just seeing her daughter this happy, was enough to make Moon's heart warm up.

"Now, now, dear, just be sure not to be a bother for them, and you know, have fun." With that last note, she hung up the call.

Star was just so happy about this, that she ran downstairs to tell everyone the good news, she will be able to go with them on vacation, they all hug her, as happy as she was.

The next school day was as boring as the last before it, just with fewer stares and more talking about how all of the students just had one last day of school before going on spring break. They all talked about their vacations or plans about staying home.

It was during lunch that Star decided to talk about the topic with her friends. "So girls, what are you doing for the holidays?"

Janna made her best face of disgust at that question. "Ugh, I'm stuck doing community work all holiday, this is totally going to get in the way of my plans of pranking every authority figure in town" The irony of that statement wasn't lost on the rest of the table, but nobody dared addressed it right there.

"Mmm, I think my parents were planning a family trip to some uncles, so yeah, sorry Janna. I won't be helping you with your plans this year." Jackie said with a bored expression, she was as much a victim of school boredom as the rest.

"Think I'll stay home with my fanfics, art, forums, and threads, just taking it easy this time. All alone at home with nothing else to do, what about you Star?" Starfan pressed a huge smile, like trying to say something in between lines.

"I'm, going with Marco and his parents on a road trip, and I'm planning on making it..." She quickly jumped on the table and lit up some shining letters on the air that read. "The best road trip ever!" The rest of her table were happy to have been quick enough to get their platters out of the table, before Star climb in it.

Jackie was trying to balance her lunch and drink while getting her words across. "Good for you Star, it's always fun to go on road trips with friends and family, hope you have a good time."

Janna realized something really quick. "Where's Marco anyway?"

"Oh, he said he needed to take care of something, so he was going to skip lunch." Star wasn't lying, this was exactly what Marco had told her before running off somewhere.

Jackie knew that she was about to ruin the mood, but she needed to ask this, time was running out. "Star, had you two, you know, talk?"

She was right, the mood was fully ruined, but none of them get up and leave the table, they already promise to be there for Star.

"I'm going to talk with him today. I had been thinking about it. Tomorrow I'm going back to Mewni after school, and I'm not coming back till next week, with all of that..." She was already regretting the decision she had come to. "I'm going to make Marco stay home for the waltz. It's going to be really hard for him, and if you're going to be there for me already. I don't want to make him suffer through that."

"Think it's a good idea?" She was talking with a lot of sense, all of the girls there had to agree with her.

Starfan was the first to talk. "It is Star, I'm sure he will understand if you explain it right."

Jackie still had some doubts on her mind, not about her plan, but more about the girl herself. "And, you're going to be all right with this?"

"No, I really wish he could be there, but, I need to think about him right now. At least once I have to do something for him."

So this was her plan, she was going to turn Marco down softly, and set him free of the burden that is going to the waltz. She knew how much this could hurt him but it was decided. She only wished to have enough courage to say it when the time arrived.

All of her friends gave her sympathetic looks, accompanied with some word of encouragement. She was going to do this all on her own, but it was the best choice she had right now, and they knew that Marco was still going to be there for her. Even if it was just a friend.

Star had planned for anything that might happen tonight, her talk with Marco had to be perfect. She knew how he felt about her, and even thought she couldn't give him a chance. She wasn't going to keep him in the dark about her own feelings, he needed this.

Thursday of the last week just 2 more days left till the bachelor waltz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, might sound a little farfetched for some of this to happen, I'll admit that. Since I watched 'Collateral Damage' I always thought of the whole school as one of those schools from bad series (Not that SVTFOE is a bad series in any aspect, even this one). Were all of them seemed to be sway one way or another without much coercing. So, I'll get it if any of you don't buy that this could happen.


	12. The storm before the bigger storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to upload these two together because they were, originally, one chapter that got so long I had to cut it in two. It did help me add more important points to each one separated, but I never shook the feeling that these two needed to be one. So I just upload them at the same time, it makes the story flow more naturally.

Star had planned everything for tonight, well at least that's what she thought. Even when she thought about what to say, and how to do it, she was missing the most important part of this plan, Marco. There was no clue about where he has gone this time. So now she was all alone in her room, anxiously waiting for her friend to get home. The more time he took to get here, the more Star was starting to have second thoughts.

All that pressure got to the point where Star wasn't even thinking straight anymore. She began to panic and arrived at the conclusion that she couldn't handle it and decided to run away and hide. The only question was, where? Going out was out of the question, that was the first place they will come looking for her.

So she decided to hide in her own secrets closet, no, that's literally the second place they will investigate. She needs to hide from the rest of the world, inside of this house, and she couldn't hide in her room.

Star mind raced with millions of ideas about where inside this house she could hide, suddenly, the realization hit her hard. "I'll hide in Marco's bedroom. I'm running away from him, he will never think about looking for me in his own room." With the brilliant idea fresh in her mind, she congratulated herself on the quick thinking and made her way to Marco's bedroom, where she decided to call Marco's closet, her new home.

After a few minutes, she managed to get comfortable. She sat hugging her knees close to her chest and had already covered herself with Marco's hoodies and shoes. It was just her on the corner, all alone, but for some reason, it smelled really nice in there.

She found herself looking around, just what could make this place smelled so nice? It was like, aloe and recently picked flowers? She had remembered something smelling like this before, but what was it? In between rolling, and throwing everything out of her way. She found it, well, she found a box and inside that box was what she was looking for.

It was the crown of flowers that Marco had brought last week. Still fresh, even without the sunlight nor water, and they smelled nice. She rumbled around that box for a while. Hey, Marco already went through her closet of secrets, this was her chance to do the same.

She found his old renegade clothes, the ones he used while he was on Hekapoo's dimension. Man, she missed that look of his, but she had to admit, his regular red hoodie was her favorite outfit. She loved it even more than Princess Marco's dress.

Diving a bit more into Marco's secrets box, she had already put that name to it, she found some pictures organized into neat piles. She grabbed one of those piles and began to circle through them. They were pictures of Marco with his family and friends, obviously taken a long time ago. Some of them even had Marco in diapers, but the pictures with friends were a little bit more recent. Sometimes that he hang up with her and the girls. Even Pony Head was on some of the pictures. Star couldn't help but smile at all the good times the two of them had spent together with all the friends she has made on Earth.

She set the pictures down, as she took the next pile, a smaller one, but that still fuel her curiosity. Her eyes almost bulge out of her skull when she noticed that the predominant girl on those pictures was Hekapoo herself. These ones almost never feature Marco, maybe he was the one taking the pictures this time around. They were simple enough, Hekapoo posing for the camera on the sunset, sitting on a dinner table, a selfie with Marco, one where she lay on a bed fully na...

She put those pictures down, her face redder than a tomato. She put everything back inside the box and toss it in the corner. She was ready to forget about what she saw there, and get out of Marco's room but she noticed something else that draw her attention. When she threw the box to the other side of the closet, she revealed one last secret hiding on one corner.

She had only heard of this from the mouth of others, maybe she saw some people at parties having it from time to time, but she had never experienced it herself, not even once. Marco would probably kill her if she ever had some. It was the legendary "Tequila." She could only whisper the name, it almost felt sacred on her hands.

Now that she thought about it, why had she never drink alcohol before? She had seen people their age drink it, and she knows several dimensions when she could get it easily, but it never crossed her mind to just drink some of it... Well, this was her new home so, why don't have a drink to celebrate?

The bottle looked like new, she found out quickly that it had never been opened before. Why does Marco have one of this hidden inside the closet anyway? She missed no extra time opening it up, tried drinking directly from it, but the liquid didn't come down. She tried it again but to no avail.

Was she doing it wrong? That could be a possibility, she had never drink before. She tried thinking of a solution, what does everybody that she had seen drinking before had that she didn't... Oh right! Those little cups where they pour the drinks.

Remembering that Marco's parents have some of those. She jumped out of the closet she was hiding and ran downstairs, tequila bottle on one hand, and a huge smile on her face. After a few minutes of hunting down those glasses, she finally found them on the very back of one of the upper drawers in the kitchen.

"Star, what do you think you are doing?" A voice from behind the kitchen said to her.

"Oh, nothing, just getting some of those little glasses so I can drink some of this tequila." She brandished that bottle on the air while stretching her right arm to reach the back of the drawer.

Star turned around to meet Marco, recently back from whatever place he was, and a puzzled look on his face.

"No, Star, you shouldn't be drinking. Where did you get that in the first place?"

She already managed to pull two glasses and met Marco's eyes with a cheerful smile. "It was in my new home when I moved in..." She noticed an even more confused look on her best friend eyes. "Oh yeah, by the way, I'm living in your closet now."

The two of them just stayed there in the kitchen, not really saying anything. Marco still confused at her comment and Star had nothing else to said. For her, there was nothing wrong in that sentence.

"Ok then, gotta go back to my new closet, hey why don't you come with me?" Star took Marco's hand, guiding him back upstairs. He couldn't resist, he had learned long ago to bring reason on one of Star's games.

They were inside Marco's closet, just the two of them surrounded on his clothes and shoes. "So Marco, what do you think of my new home?"

He need only to take a quick look around. "Well, first of all, Star, this place is already full to the top, you don't even have a place to sleep. Secondly, you have a closet bigger than my room, why are you not camping there? And lastly, if you move here, we are going to have some awkward times together, even more than before."

It was like Star's mind just snapped back into reality thanks to her friend's words. "Well, it was a nice idea at the time... I'll still have a drink though. I need to build some courage up." Marco quickly took away the glasses from Star hand.

He already had an idea, on why she needed to have courage but he wasn't having any of it. "No, I know the waltz is tomorrow, but you don't need to drink for this."

Star deflated for a moment, that wasn't the reason she felt like drinking. She needed to gather some strength to talk to Marco. Not surprised, being with him in such a closed and private place wasn't helping on this matter.

"Please, Marco, I have never had a drink before, and it's not like I'm at a party or anything. I'm right at home, with you, and I want us to have a drink together. You go out drinking with Tom and Janna, why not me?" She was giving Marco the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster.

Well, she was right, not wanting her to drink would be just hypocritical on his behalf, and he had been planning on having a deep talk with Star today ever since he promised Jackie. He hated to admit it, but maybe, he needed some extra courage, and it does help Star forget tomorrow for one more night at least.

"Ok Star, but I carry the bottle. When I see that you have drunk enough, I'll cut you off, deal?"

"Sure Marco, here, I'll hold the glasses then." They traded, and Marco filled the two shot glasses up.

"Ok Star, this is a very dry drink, it may burn a lot, and if you feel like spit it out, do it in your glass."

Not even a second after he finished and Star had already downed her glass. "Mmm, tastes like water actually."

This surprised Marco maybe the tequila was in his closet for so long, that it lose taste? He quickly downed his own glass to taste for himself. No, it still tasted like burning for him. "Weird, it still burns my throat, are you sure you didn't felt anything?"

"Nah, nothing, maybe I just have more tolerance?" She smiled at her own comment. "Anyways, serve us another one."

"Ok, I just hope that's true, I don't... can't imagine what kind of drunk you will be." He poured another round for both of them.

Again Star drank hers as quickly as Marco serve her. "Still nothing, another one!"

The next couple of drinks went by extremely fast, for Marco, Star, on the other hand, was having fun both watching her friend get anxious pouring the drinks as fast as she demanded them and just how silly both of them must look like right now. Two teenagers, kneeling inside a closet, drinking tequila at a fast pace.

"Another one!" She quickly stated. "No Star! We just had a bunch of them at a rocket's speed. Let's wait for the next round." This answer did not please her on the slightest.

"Look Star, they may not taste strong to you, but I need to take a breather. Besides, they may hit you in a different way than it does me, so just wait here. I need to use the restroom." Marco got up and exited the closet. Not only was it hot as hell inside of it but he already needed to use the restroom since he arrived home, Star just kept him from using it at the time.

"Where are mom and dad? It's just Thursday afternoon, they should be here already." He quickly checked his phone. "Battery's dead... well, if they need us I'm sure they'll call the house phone." After he finished his business on the restroom, he put his phone to charge.

"Should I get to the kitchen for some snacks? I mean, I'm pretty hungry myself, and Star probably could use some right now." He couldn't decide right away, as his attention was drawn by some weird sounds coming from the closet.

He knew that those sounds were his friend, but it was like she was surprised about something, he could also hear her giggle a bit. Opening the door revealed his friend looking at some photos. "Hey, you feeling alright?" He got a better glance at the pictures she was holding they were the ones Hekapoo gave to him. Without missing a beat, he lunged himself to take them, but Star managed to stop him.

"Star! Please, put those back, and forget that you ever saw them." He was still struggling to grab the pictures from Star's hands, she still managed to keep him just at arm's reach.

Star was already feeling light headed. She was blushing, but not only at the pictures, and couldn't stop giggling at everything. "Heh heh, you know, even for her young looks damn if she isn't sexy." She quickly circled through all of the pictures. "Bummer, I was hoping your hot bod to appear in there."

Marco stopped struggling, did he just heard that right? Star just burp quickly and handed the photos back to him. "Forget I said that what's the deal with the photos anyway?"

Again, this took Marco by surprise. "Well, what do you want me to say? We were in a relationship, and she gave them to me, which I think I should've burned when I arrived."

"Don't need to pretend Marco, every guy would have kept those, and trust me. She likes the idea of you having them, she gives me that vibe, to be honest." This time, Marco was getting redder on the face, but probably because the liquor was already hitting him hard.

"Let me just put these back, then we can do something else." He quickly put the pictures back in the box, close it, and then buried on the very back of the closet. 

"Marcoooooooo, pour me another one." She shook her glass anxiously.

Marco began serving drinks again, they were still in his room, but now they sat outside his closet, talking about whatever. Star was asking for drinks at a slower pace than before, which was fine for him. This gave them the opportunity to have a more relaxed evening together.

The hours passed, and the liquor too. After a few hours of just talking, drinking, and taking it easy together. They were drunk enough to cut themselves for the night, the alcohol was almost running out anyway.

Marco wasn't his usual quiet drunk right now, he was unusually lively at the moment, but that may be thanks to Star. They couldn't stop talking right now, every time they finished with a topic, they manage to bring another one up. They talked about school, the different adventures they had gone through, their thought on their friends, and so on.

Star was, somehow, even happier and sweeter right now, she managed to get closer to Marco, and wouldn't stop hugging him. She giggled at the simplest things, and couldn't stop burping from time to time. 

Even thought she was drunk right now, she hadn't forgotten about her initial purpose. "Hey Marco, let's go to my room." She quickly let a light burp and got up. "Need to tell you something." Maybe she wanted to speak her mind in a place where she felt safer, or she just wanted to spread her legs.

Marco followed suit, or more like, they helped each other walk that short distance. As soon as they reach her room, both of them threw themselves on the floor. They laugh at their clumsiness, still, they made no effort to get up, they just lay there staring at the other.

"So Marco, what do you wanted to tell me?"

"What? No, I thought you were the one that wanted to speak."

She thought for a moment, trying to remember. "Nah, I'm sure you said that. Now quit stalling and speak up!"

Marco thought for a moment. Yes, this was the time to said it, he just hoped to still be able to form sentences. "Star, I love you." He began to tear a little after saying that. "I love how energetic you are, the way you are always happy, and how you can make everyone your friend." Star turned around, showing him her back. "I can't imagine my life without you. Don't you see? In the short time, we spend together, you have become engraved in my heart."

He received no response from Star, she just remained motionless facing the other way. Marco began to feel his head spin and laid facing the ceiling, with his eyes closed. A few seconds later, he felt someone sitting on top of him, and his head stopped spinning. He opened up his eyes and saw them, a pair of dim pink lights coming from Star's cheeks. He had never seen that one before, the next thing he noticed was the tears, but they weren't tears of sadness, for one she was smiling while cleaning them.

"Thanks, Marco, it just feels so good, to have someone that loves me like you, but I have to tell you..." She knew what needed to be said, but right now she felt so happy hearing him. Having heard those words coming from him melted her heart in an instant.

Her cheeks began to shine even brighter. "I don't know how I feel... I don't want to hurt you... I mean... thank you for your feelings... Maybe things could work out..." She was struggling, trying to find the right words. In the middle of her rant, she wasn't able to notice that Marco was now sitting straight. She also wasn't able to notice when he leaned closer to kiss her.

Even though Star was taken by surprise, she kissed him back, but this proved to be a short kiss thanks to the alcohol breath mostly. As they broke the kiss they took a deep breath, still remaining in that position. "Sorry Star, I didn't know my breath stank that much." In between breaths, Star readied her wand and shot a blue sparkling blast into her mouth. She then grabbed Marco by the chin and pulled his mouth open, shooting the same blast at him.

"Mmm, mint fresh, didn't know you had that kind of..." This time, it was Star shutting him up with a kiss.

This light make out session lasted a while, they both ran out of breath after what they thought were hours later. Afterward, both of them felt so tired that they collapsed while hugging. Star was the first one to talk.

"Marcooooo, I really want to keep making out but I'm so tired and my head is spinning like crazy right now."

"I feel the same Star, let's stay like this till we feel better at least." They remained on the floor, hugging. After a few minutes there, both of them started to feel a bit better.

"Hey Star, what would we do if the guy you choose doesn't like me?" He didn't know what he was saying right now.

"Tell him to mind his own business probably. What are you going to do when I get married? Would you forget about me?"

"Never, I promise you, even if I can't be with you, we will remain friends." This put a smile on both their faces. "Do you think we should've run away when I told you?"

"To be honest, yes. I'm regretting not taking you in your offer. Think we could have live happy on the run?"

"We would have had a tough life, but I still think it would have been a happier life. Without that waltz in your life. Star, do you want children?"

"Never thought about it. I know I have to leave at least one heir, but never asked myself if I wanted to be a mother, why?"

"It's just, I really want to have kids, not many, but I do want to have a family… Don't know why I thought that."

This last comment made Star shiver, she still had one more thing to say. "Marco, why don't you stay home this Saturday? I know how hard it could be for you. I don't want you to get hurt... because of… me."

Marco knew what she meant, but he was having none of it. "I know that you are worried about me but I'll still be there for you. I promise you didn't I?"

She would argue with him if she wasn't feeling so tired already. Instead, she just let his words fill her with hope. "Thanks, Marco, you are the best... maybe one last kiss for the night?" She stretched her neck just enough to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks for that... Damn, I'm so tired, gonna go to sleep?"

"Oh yes, just, help me to the bed." Marco found this to be easier said than done. First of all, he almost lost his balance standing up, and his head was spinning like crazy. But the biggest issue was helping Star up and walking her to bed. By this time it was like she lost the capacity to walk in a straight line.

After, what it seemed like some kind of drunk stumbling around the bedroom, he was able to lay his friend on her bed. He was about ready to leave the room when suddenly Star hug him from behind. "No, don't leave me, we already had a sleepover on your bedroom, let's have one in mine." He was already tired enough that he didn't have any strength in him. He took his hoodie off and laid on the bed with Star. She hugged him and fall asleep. Marco followed suit shortly after.

It was a cute sight. The two best friends spooning together, with Star as the big spoon.

Next morning, Star was quickly awoken by her alarm clock. Last day of school before spring break and she had just one thought on her mind. "Screw that." She silenced her alarm with magic, snuggle closer to Marco, and went back to sleep.

Mrs. Diaz was debating about waking them up, but when she entered the bedroom and saw the two of them snuggling together so cutely, she couldn't bring herself to break them apart. Besides, she saw the empty bottle of tequila on the floor and knew not to bother them too early. She was also relieved that both of them still had their clothes on. Although, she and her husband are going to need to have a talk with Marco and Star about drinking in a school week.

"So? Are the kids coming down for breakfast?" Mr. Diaz asked his wife as soon as he saw her back to the table, she then presented him the bottle of tequila.

"Don't think so, and you can cross school too, pretty sure this was full when they started."

Mr. Diaz was almost surprised at the two teenagers, then angry, but he quickly remembered the compromise Star had tomorrow. "Well, I'm disappointed at the two of them for drinking on a school night, but, we know how stressed Star has been, but at the same time they are underage..."

"Let's just agree to talk to the two of them, but I think we should wait for next week, you know, tomorrow is Star's big day."

Mr. Diaz let out a sigh at that. "Next time we should try calling home when Marco's not answering the phone. Do you think they talk about it?"

She knew what he was talking about, they had already noticed the two teenagers crush for each other. "Well, they are spooning together, but hey, you also get kind of touchy feely after a couple of drinks."

They both laugh at that, but Mr. Diaz quickly thought about that sentence again. "Wait, spooning? Please tell me they weren't naked, otherwise, that boy is never going to hear the end of it."

"Don't worry sweetie, aside from the shoes and Marco's hoodie, they were fully clothed."

That comment made Mr. Diaz remember that time the two of them had to tell their parents about their relationship. But you get it right? We were nineteen when we had Marco, he is even younger than that, I just..."

"I get it, sweetie. I'm just saying not to get to worked up about it. Marco is a responsible kid, last night was the first time he broke the rules. But I'm scared, I don't want him to get hurt, Star is a great girl but all of the stuff she is going through."

Mr. Diaz calmed his wife down by hugging her tightly "Sweetie, both of them are still young, they are full of courage and would do anything for the other, besides, they have us for support. I have hope that they would manage to surpass this bump on their lives."

They lock gazes if he was so confident that things would turn up all right. She knew not to worry about it anymore. Marco had the support of his family to go through one of the toughest moments of his life, and that is worth everything right now.

Mr. and Mrs. Diaz decided to have breakfast alone and give the kids time to recover. After some hours had passed, it was already lunch time. Mrs. Diaz was already worried about the teenagers, they hadn't made a sound since morning and they had already skip a meal this day. So that was also troubling her mind.

She decided to bring them lunch to the bedroom, something quick and easy to pass, along with a ton of water. As she knocked on the door she received no answer from inside, so she let herself in. Both Marco and Star were still sleeping but the warm of the day had already got to them apparently. They were uncovered and each one had their own side of the bed for themselves, Mrs. Diaz approached them, set the food plates on the nightstand, and try to wake them up.

"Kids? Wake up, it's already past noon, you must be hungry." She began shaking Star gently, it did have a little effect on the hangover teenager.

"Mrs. Diaz? Oh thanks, I'm starving." Star sat straight and began eating. She was a mess, red eyes, with huge bags under them, wrinkle clothing, and messy hair. Her breath had a refreshing mint scent to it though.

"Eat it slowly Star, don't want to rattle your stomach up, unless you want to puke all the food out. Let me wake Marco now." She moved to the other side of the bed and did the same as with Star.

"Mom? What time is it?" He himself woke up and sat straight, he looked just as mess up as his friend, his breath even smelled the same.

"Past noon already, there's food and water over there, oh and, I already cleaned after you two."

Marco just groaned, he knew what was going to happen next. "Are we in trouble?"

Her mom answered him with the sweetest smile on her face. "Oh Marco, of course, you are. But you will have to wait for your father to come home. Then we will have a talk, but now, you two recover a little. Just a few more hours before Star has to go home right?"

Marco, again, just groaned, but quickly joined Star for lunch, the cold water really help them clear their heads. They were still too sick to drag themselves to the bathroom and get ready, so they just kept eating, while Mrs. Diaz kept them company.

"Hey Mrs. Diaz, can I ask you a question?" Star looked curious about something, Marco on the other hand, pay her no mind.

"Sure Star, what's troubling you?"

"Can you tell me when did you know you were in love with your husband?" Marco almost spat the water that he was drinking.

Calmly, Mrs. Diaz prepared herself to answer. "Well Star, that's actually a two part answer. I was already been dating him for a while, but I realize I loved him just as we enter college. As the how I knew it was love..." Star got herself comfortable, she truly wanted to hear this story. Marco did the same, but also stayed a bit on the back, pretending not to be interested.

"You see, we were happy dating and all, we had our fights and issues, but what couple doesn't? We were young so we had not a trouble in the world at the time and more importantly, we were happy. But that's not enough a reason that makes you want to spend the rest of your lives together."

"But all of the sudden. I get some, surprising news, the kind of news that change your life forever. It genuinely scared me just thinking about telling him. I thought for real that this will break us apart, but he needed to know."

By this point, she had the full attention of both the teenagers. "So I brace myself for the worse and told him the truth, and you know what?" Both Marco and Star had leaned forward to listen better. "He wasn't even mad at me, he promised me that no matter what may happen, we were going to go through it, together."

Her audience were sporting huge smiles on their faces, it was a genuinely nice story, it warmed their hearts hearing it. "Nice tale mom. Hey Star, mind if I take a bath first?" She nodded in answer to him, and with that he disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the women to themselves. Star had one more question, regarding that story.

"Can I ask, what were the news you received?" She asked so innocently and curious, Mrs. Diaz couldn't resist to giving her an answer, she and her husband consider her family by this point.

"You promise never to tell this to Marco?" Star quickly nodded. "No, Star, you don't get it. You can never tell this to him, can you promise that?"

Star give it a quick thought, what could possibly be so secretive that Marco's own mother hasn't told him? This made her want to know it, even more, she was sure she could keep this promise. She will have to, for Mrs. Diaz.

Star, again, nodded, this time filled with determination. "Ok Star, what happened was. The doctor told me I was pregnant, with Marco." She whispered this to Star, and her reaction was cuter than ever, her smile was closed but huge, and she was blushing strong.

Star began chuckling lightly too. "That's so cute Mrs. Diaz, and everything turned up excellent for you three at the end, makes me so happy."

Mrs. Diaz couldn't stop laughing at her reaction either. "Thanks, Star, I hoped everything turns out well for you too." With that last note, she gave her a light kiss on her forehead and excused herself out.

This left Star all alone in her room, she decided to wait for Marco to finish with the shower. While waiting, she finished the rest of the water and began thinking about the waltz to be held tomorrow. She soon realized that she still needed to make the arrangements to pick up her friends tomorrow. They already knew the hour so her part was to prepare the carriage.

Also, she was going to need a lot of energy, twenty or so dances on one night will the tiring, and lastly, she needed to decide what kind of prince she wants. That prove itself a difficult question to answer, she didn't even know what kind of boy he wanted to date, less what kind of man to marry with.

That was going to be one of those times when she will need to cross that bridge when she gets there. It was difficult to think of something like that with her head hurting like it was. She couldn't believe that the liquor had done this to her. It tasted no different than water on her opinion, still, it made for a fun night...

Wait a minute, did the two of them make out last night? She had to admit to not be able to remember last night with clarity, but she did remember lots of hugging, and mint freshness, but kissing? That was the part she was having trouble remembering if it really happened.

Speaking it with Marco about it was absolutely out of the table. One thing she remembered with clarity was him fully confessing to her last night, and that she never answer him clearly. Right now, she could only hope that he didn't remember last night with more detail than her.

After a while, the shower stopped running, and Marco retreated to his bedroom to get ready, his head was still killing him from the night before. He still believed that he could have confessed his feeling on better circumstances, and with less alcohol, and even though he wasn't going to speak about the making out session the two of them had last night, at least, if Star doesn't bring the topic out. He was still happy that Star knows how he feels, now they just needed to make it through the weekend alive and they could continue to enjoy their lives, barely.

Star got ready fast after Marco had finished with the shower and after a quick change of clothes. She went downstairs, where he met Marco watching TV. "Hey Star, how you feeling? My head still hurts."

"Me too buddy, hey I'm going back in a few minutes, want to do something? While I'm still here."

Why is he having trouble saying what he wants? Just yesterday he admitted his feelings for her. "So, I'm still welcome tomorrow?"

She wasn't expecting that question. "You already have an invitation, don't you? Just make sure you get me something nice for tomorrow."

He couldn't help but smile at that comment. "Don't worry about it, besides, I have been talking with Tom about getting a suit for the night."

She just groaned at the mention of that name. "Why don't you go on that suit you wore at the Blood Moon Dance, you looked handsome in that."

Marco just blushed at the compliment. "Nah, it's just a silly costume. I need an actual suit if I want to go there looking sharp. I promise, no prince will look better than me tomorrow night."

Star lightly smiled at his friend promise, still, she didn't want to get her hopes up for tomorrow. "Remember what I told you. Mom doesn't want you there, so you know, at least plan ahead."

Remembering that point made him smile. "I already thought of something. I don't want to ruin the surprise, so I won't say anything more."

That comment made Star smile back. She couldn't resist saying the words coming next, more like, she couldn't resist this urge she felt coming from her heart. It was like throwing a coin, either they did kiss or not. Either way, her plan to turn him down had failed spectacularly. Now she needed to decide how to proceed from here. 

"Hey Marco, about last night..." Marco's heart stopped, he wasn't sure what to expect right now. "...Thank you, we had a great time together… Hope we can do it again some other time." Star smiled and then look away from him.

Marco chuckled at that, but it then hit him. He managed to read in between the lines, first time for everything, and his head sprang in her direction. Star was too embarrassed at what she said, which meant she was serious about it.

"Star... did you just said...?"

Suddenly, there was a loud bell ring coming from her bedroom. "Hey that's my ride, hope to see you tomorrow." She tried to run upstairs, full blush on her face but was stopped in the middle of the staircase.

"Star, wait a moment, please." He pulled her in, he wanted to test if this was just his imagination or if she was being serious.

"Marco, not right now, I need to get..." She didn't finish, she was now seeing her best friend leaning forward to kiss her. It felt different now that she was more lucid, for one, she knew how wrong this was, and still, something moved her to comply. It wasn't a deep kiss, it was more like a, see you later kiss, the point was, it was a fast kiss, and they quickly broke away from it.

"Now I really need to go, Marco, see you tomorrow." He let her go and didn't care, he was happier than ever that he got away with that last kiss.

But his smile suddenly dropped. He knew there was no way this was going to end good, for either of them, and he was dumping a huge weight on his friend's shoulders. It was fun, he had to admit that, but he needed to go back to reality.

"This is just passing time for the two of you. You need to cut it out..." He wasn't breathing right now, the knot on his chest prevented him from doing it. "... before she gets hurt... Before you get hurt." He would have cried there but his dad arrived home, and he knew exactly what was going to happen right now.

Star was already home by this moment, she said hello to her parents, but they knew something was off about her. Not 'about to choose a future husband for the good of the kingdom' off, she was looking more distracted and concerned about something else.

She received a new walk through the main hall and the ballroom. All the decorations were already up for tomorrow. The sword in the stone was in place, ready to receive the princes for the challenge. On the ballroom, the stage where she was going to announce her decision was already set. Even the teleporting circle was in place.

All of this made Star even more anxious. So much that she started hyperventilating on top of the stage, so much in fact, that her mother needed to pull her aside to question.

"Star, tell me what's been bothering you. We know it's not about tomorrow, just tell us, please."

"Yes sweetheart, you have never been this nervous about something before, what is it?" Even her father noticed how strong she was reacting to all of this.

She had one thing on her mind, Marco. If she ever did something to hurt him, she would never forgive herself. But now, she couldn't possibly follow this path and not end up breaking his heart.

"Mom, dad, you gotta stop all of this, please." They look at her unsurprised.

"We know sweetheart, this must be hard for you but..." The queen didn't even finish her sentence before Star spoke up.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT ME!" She tried to compose herself unless she wanted to scare her parents again.

"Look, it's Marco… he... he loves me... for real. I know he does, he is such a great friend to me that he even promised to be here so that I don't have to go through it alone. But I can't bring myself to make him watch as I choose another guy to spend the rest of my life with. Please, I'll do anything, but I'll never forgive myself if tomorrow night ends with me breaking his heart. I'm begging you right now." She couldn't help it, she let her tears flow without control. If she ever needed her parents to change their minds about something, this was it. She would even take Saint Olga's if that was still an option.

At this point, Star was crying on her father's shoulder. Both of them decided to cut the tour short, and bring her to her bedroom. After a few minutes of her just weeping uncontrollably, they manage to calm her down enough to talk to her.

Queen Moon was surprised that she would go to such lengths to help a friend. But she needed to know something before considering her daughter request.

"Star are you sure he loves you, one hundred percent sure about it?" Star nodded at her question, she was still shaking from the weeping.

"And now, do you love him back, the same way you say he loves you?" She found herself lost at that question. She wasn't sure if she really does love him that much, but right now she was thinking of him more than anything, didn't that mattered to her mother?

"I'll take the lack of words as my answer. Star, you are the heir to Mewni first, Marco's friend second. You need to do this for the sake of your own future." Star just looked devastated at her mother's words, but she was so sad that nothing came out of her mouth, not a word, an argument, not even an insult.

"Sweetie, I know Marco, he is a good boy, but part of being royalty is knowing to set your priorities straight. Tomorrow night will be just as important as the time you inherited the magic wand. It will be hard, but please understand, we will never do anything to harm you."

She wasn't looking any less upset about everything just because of those words. With that last note, her parents leave her alone for the rest of the day, just her alone to ponder about her situation.

It was all her fault, she had her moment to turn him down and she didn't. Now for her lack of conviction, she was going to hurt her best friend. Right now she could only pray that something happens and Marco was unable to get here tomorrow night. She screwed everything up, again.

Marco by this point was inside Star bedroom. He just finished having a talk, or more like receiving one, from his parents about the dangers of drinking at such a young age. He promised not to ever do it again, something he didn't need that much coercing into accepting. Now, he needed to speak to Tom about tomorrow.

"Call Tom." His friend quickly answered the phone.

"Hey, dude, what you need?"

"Well, tomorrow if the waltz and I need a good suit for it. Is ‘it' ready?" The call dropped, and suddenly a fire portal opened inside the room.

"Good move on you Marco to contact me about this. ‘It', will be ready tomorrow morning. Right now? We are going to set you up with a nice suit, I promise." They both enter walked pass the portal, which closed behind them soon after.

It was Friday of the last week. Tomorrow is the bachelor waltz. Our best wishes are with Princess Star Butterfly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the first part of this chapter. I feel like it captures Star's personality when fully nervous. The irrational thinking and the way she got so into her idea that she forgot why she did it in the first place. But that's just my opinion. Since admitting her crush on the series was so hard for Star on the first place, I thought that dealing with love may confuse her even more than a simple crush. And I totally miss the chance to make that Tequila a bottle Whiskey. (Whiskey can be made with corn if you didn't know.)


	13. The Bachelor's Waltz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick heads up, this isn't the last chapter, not by a long shot. Hope you all enjoy it!

It was already six pm on Saturday here on Earth. Starfan was waiting for her ride. Earlier that same day, Star had sent a message to her and the rest of her friends. It told them that they will get pick up from six on. She also asked if any of them couldn't make it for the night, of course, nobody answered 'yes' to that.

She was usually the most enthusiastic one at the idea of hanging up with Star. But she knew that tonight wasn't going to be the like the previous times they all had gone out together. This ought to be the most difficult and stressful night of her dear friend's life. So from here until the end of the night, she wasn't going to put the crazy fan girl act. This was Star's night, and she was talking about Star the girl, not the idol.

She looked at herself in the mirror again, her dress was red colored, to match her own glasses and no sleeves. She had already lost the headband and replaced her bangs with a simple French braid. She didn't think about dressing too extravagantly, she wasn't going there for the guys, this wasn't any different from another girls night for her.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her window. It was the carriage sent to pick her up. She shouted at her parents that her ride was here and boarded it. Inside, she discovered that they pick her up last as all of the other girls were already inside.

Starfan made a quick swoop of all of them. "Hey girls, looking good all of you. Janna, why don't you have your pink dress?"

Janna wasn't wearing her Princess attire, she had a golden ball dress, and had left her beanie behind for the occasion. "Did you thought for a moment that maybe I wanted to look good for the night?"

Jackie, of all of them, was the only one to chuckle at her response. "Are you going to prey on the rejected princes maybe? That's literally the only reason I could think of why you got so into finding the right dress."

That comment made Janna blush, she got caught, but the rest of the girls didn't know what Jackie meant. "You see, this whole week, she has been dragging me around, from dress shop to dress shop, trying to find the right dress."

They all laugh at Janna's new founded hidden deeps, but suddenly the door opened up and the girls found themselves at the castle entrance. While they were being escorted inside, they continue their teasing. "Well girls, maybe our little Janna already has a prospect. We all looked at the Princes for today." Pony Head throw her two cents into the talk

Janna looked surprised as all hell, her bulging eyes already gave her away. "Oh my god! It's true, Janna, do you perhaps have a crush on one of the boys?" Jackie was milking this moment all she could, not all days was Janna the center of teasing. It was great, she wouldn't be lying if she said that this was just another girls night for her. They were even going to talk about boys all night. Her dress reflected that just a simple aqua blue colored dress, her hair combed the same way as ever with a red flower as decoration.

Soon after, the group arrived at the ballroom, where they met with Star and her parents. Their friend was looking depressed, no other way to say it really, hell, she was sporting the heaviest bags under her eyes. "Makeup!" Queen Moon called down a servant to their side, the servant girl made quick work on Star's face, hiding her eye bags.

"Now Star, would it bother you to smile a bit? The guests will arrive soon and you need to look sharp. Look your friends just arrived!" Star quickly react to that, her face lighted up at the sight of her four closest friends. She was so happy to see them that she group hug all of them.

"Girls! You all made it!" This suddenly changed the whole mood in the room. The King and Queen were happy that their daughter was beginning to cheer up, and the girls all cheer up.

"Oh, hey girls! These are my parents, Queen Moon and King River of Mewni." They nodded at their daughter's friends. "These are my friends, Janna, Jackie, Starfan, and you already know Princess Pony Head." The girls shake hands with them, but Pony Head received some stern looks from the Royals.

Pony Head didn't even bat an eye at this, but at the same time, she didn't take it as ill will against her. "You do remember me, don't worry guys, tonight is Star's night. I know that."

After some small talk, Star's parents excuse themselves. They needed to attend to some more preparations for the night. "Star, just remember, the trumpets will signal the arrival of the princes. You all need to go to the entrance hall to be seated along the balcony to witness the first challenge."

Star summoned her friends just an hour early from the beginning of the event to have some time to explain what happened between her and Marco on Friday. This took her some minutes to explain, and judging from the shocked expression on her friend's faces, none of them were waiting to hear that.

It was Pony Head, that was bold enough to break the silence. "So, are you two guys dating now or..."

Star had to face palm at that comment. "No we are not, but he is coming here tonight. What can I do? If I end up breaking his heart, I'm sure he will hate me for life."

Again, another minute of silence, not all of them had experience with this kind of matter. None of them knew what to do right now, Jackie could only soften the blow. "Star, I'm sorry but, there's nothing we can do. He is going to be here on his own free will and we don't know where he is. I tried calling him earlier, no answer."

Janna knew the guy a little bit more than the rest of the girls, except for Star, so she had an idea of what he could be thinking right now. "But think about it, Marco is way more mature than any of us, his reaction for today may surprise you."

And Starfan had read enough romantic novels to get an idea. "Besides, he loves you doesn't he? You may be scared that he ends up hating you, but we can all tell, he would never do that."

Star hugged them once more, their words really cheer her up right there. "But just to be clear, you and the Earth turd aren't dating right?" Star was about to say something, but her chance went out as the trumpets did.

"Not right now Pony Head, you all want to join in? We won't be able to talk I'll tell you that now." All the girls smile at her, she knew they wouldn't back down from it. Besides, the first challenge was a quick one, how long could it take.

More than an hour and hundreds of princes later. Generic prince after generic prince, well, that wasn't true some look way more interesting than others, fey folk, underworld creatures, demi-humans and the like litter the entrance hall, and so few of them actually manage to get pass it. Not even strength nor magic power of any kind could move that enchanted sword. Only those with the especial invitations the Queen made manage to go through. Some of them raged at being denied entrance, but the guards made quick work of them, others were relieved at not passing the test, and some looked sad at being rejected by a rock.

Star and her parents witness all the Princes going through the challenge from their own balcony. The girls had their own separate one and from time to time whispers could be heard from their direction. It was obvious that even the princes down below could hear them, but the girls didn't care. Something about setting them straight from the start could be heard from their side.

But one thing really bothered the girls and the princess, where was Marco? He wasn't among the first ones to get in. As the princes came and go, there was no sign of him. On one hand, Star was happy, thinking he would skip this night, but then again her mind was her enemy, making her have hope that he would appear to keep her company.

A little after the hour had passed, the last prince that was present had his turn and the waltz needed to move to the next phase. But Queen Moon knew that two boys from her list hadn't arrived yet, she ordered the guards to wait. She was going to give them some more time to arrive.

"Dear, those were all the princes, shouldn't we move to the ballroom?"

"Just a moment River, some guests haven't arrived. I want to give them some more time."

Star just groaned. If those other guest were like the rest that passed the challenge, she could be without them for the night.

All of the sudden, a dark carriage entered through a fire portal, made a full run around the room, almost hitting the boys waiting to be let in, before parking inside the hall. This spooked everyone there, but Star was looking furious, she knew who this was. "Mom! How could you invite Tom? Did you really didn't think that maybe I don't want to see him ever again?"

Moon didn't answer back. She just rolled her eyes at Star for not even reading the list of guests she had given her, twice. They both watched how the mentioned Prince Tom from the underworld walked out of the carriage.

He had a dark red blazer with matching pants and a black shirt underneath. This look gave more of a casual and chill vibe. He obviously wasn't trying to look formal for the event, but still, he was planning on having a great night.

Tom walked calmly towards the stone, and without any problem, manage to pull the sword out of said stone. His smile could be seen from way up the balconies. The Queen got up from her seat, she was about to signal the guards to escort all the princes to the ballroom. No more time could be given to the last prince. But Tom spoke up, getting everybody's attention.

"Wait, Queen Moon! There's still one more prince!" He signaled to his carriage, slowly, another figure emerged from it.

What got everybody's attention, to begin with, was the huge black sombrero with golden ornamentation. This new boy was covered in a long dark cape that made it impossible for anyone to look at his clothes. Obviously, Star already knew who he was, recognizing that kind of hat was easy for her, but after seeing the look of confusion on her parents and friends on the other balcony. She kept her mouth shut, she didn't want to ruin the surprise.

As he looked up to see the people on the balcony, they could see his face covered with a white mask with lines of different colors. Star was reminded, again, of the mask that Marco once wore. The masked figure approached the stone. He extended his arm to grab the sword in the stone, and with no problem, pull it off said stone. That motion managed to open up his cape revealing his attire. He wore what was, clearly, a brand new charro suit. Fully decorated with golden threads all around it, and an equal black shirt underneath to match. For Star, it looked like an upgrade form of the attire Marco wore at the Blood Moon Dance and she had to admit it, he looked even cooler now.

But what confused Star was that that boy didn't look like Marco. That boy, well, if you can call that a boy. The figure wearing a suit that so much resembled Marco's was a skeleton. Yes, you could tell by the hands and face. Speaking of his face, it was white, like a skull will be, no hair at all nor lips. But his skull wasn't plain white, It had ornamented lines of several colors covering every inch of its face. His eyes were golden yellow, at least he had eyes, some people thought for a moment. The girls from Earth were reminded of the ornamented ‘Calaveras' that some cultures of their planet make.

King River was amazed at this display. "Boy! Introduce yourself to the Queen and King of Mewni." River was always a fan of grand entrances and mysterious figures. Also, the thought of somebody finding a way around rigged odds intrigue him.

Moon felt puzzled by the boy, she knew he wasn't what he appear to be. She could detect magic of some kind covering the mysterious figure and she knew that no undead prince had received one of her invitations. So the only logical conclusion, it was Star's doing. Maybe she tracked down a boy to stir up things tonight… Or maybe…

Star was so confused right now. Could this be really Marco? Or her mom just had some weird ideas about what constituted a good prospect?

The skeleton boy took his hat to bow down and was reminded of something really important he had forgotten. He looked right at Tom and the boys could just hear the other's thoughts, they were that in sync. "Crap, we forgot about coming up with a fake name." That's what Tom's eyes told the skeleton boy. "Just make something up, something cool." The last bachelor had literal microseconds to come up with something right now.

"I'm... uh... Calaveras? Yes! Prince Calaveras from Earth's underworld." He said that loud enough for everybody at the balconies to hear. There was no doubt after hearing his voice. That skeleton was, somehow, Marco. Well, leave it to Marco to be able to hide his appearance, apparently. Now all his friends were dying to know what was going on with him. He then waived at Star, and she was so confused at the moment that she could only wave back.

Marco took his cape away and handed it to one of Tom's servants, along with his hat. Queen Moon manage to shook the surprise off and signal all the guards to bring the princes to the ballroom. Marco and Tom made their way inside, not being bothered by all the stares the other boys were giving them.

As Star and her parents made their way to the next room, she was stopped by her mother. "Star, I'll tell you right now, you are here tonight fulfilling a royal duty. I don't know what you and your friends may be thinking, pulling that little stunt, but it was your one and only pass, be sure to tell them this." Star gave her an annoyed look, she didn't even have the intention to hide it. "And you shouldn't be too happy, weren't you hoping he didn't show up?" 

This brought Star back to reality, and… “Hey! How did you know that was Marco down there?”

"Surprised? I may not be able to look under whatever spell he is using to hide his face. But your reaction right now told me all I needed to know." Again, Star was annoyed at her mother's words but also impressed at how she managed to realize that fast. Faster than his dad at least.

"I'll be with my friends, how long do I have till the dancing starts?"

"The trumpets will tell you, feel free to talk to some of them at least." And with that, her mom made her own way to the ballroom.

"Hey Star! What do you think about Marco's entrance?" Jackie was still laughing at that stunt, all of them were actually.

"Did you saw the faces of the other guys? He surely put them in their place." Pony Head was all over messing with those guys one way or another, hell, she was there mostly to intimate them. But seeing them be brought down back to reality was hilarious.

All the girls stayed on that hallway gossiping about all the guys. "What happened with Marco by the way? Why is he looking like that?" Starfan just asked the question everybody was dying to know the answer for.

Star shrugged before answering. "I don't know. If he did it to avoid getting kicked out. My mom already knows who he is, so that plan went down in flames fast."

Afterward, they made a fast way to the ballroom to keep the night going. They made a promise to help Star by talking with most of the guys. They figure that different opinions will help her with the decision for tonight.

Once they enter the ballroom through the second floor, they manage to contemplate the whole room from their position. It was full to the roof right now, totally different from one hour ago. The new guests appear to be the family members of the princes that were accepted. All of them wore the usual ball dresses or light armor uniforms. Star could also spot some of her own family members in the crowd, from both sides, this was looking more like a proper royal party than before.

"Well, the hall would look way more empty, and sad, without more guests." Starfan was feeling more and more excited about being present in a proper fantasy dance.

Both princesses on the group already knew thought, this wasn't as exciting as it appeared. "Don't get your hopes up girl, this kind of upright parties are the dullest thing you can ever go through."

Jackie and Janna lean closer to the handrail and scouted the crowd looking for something in specific. "I don't see Marco anywhere girls, hope he isn't feeling too out of place." Jackie was concerned now, it quickly dawned on her that the group now had two people to care for.

"Oh, there they are, getting some food by the tables." Janna pointed triumphantly at the two boys.

Jackie saw the boys and waved at them. As they wave back, she realized Janna was looking weirdly enthusiastic right now. "Wait, you weren't looking for Marco, you wanted to find his friend."

"Not gonna dignify that with an answer Jackie, now if you excuse me. I have to go say hello to Marco." She quickly took her leave downstairs.

The rest of the girls saw her ran towards the boys and Star decided to get her crew on the case for the night. "Girls, I know that you love me, but if you want to help me tonight I'm gonna need you out there to judge those guys, make haste and don't disappoint." She struck a pose and pointed at the stairs to the first floor.

Her friends didn't react at that little speech, they smile and Starfan answer. "Sure, Star, we can do that." And with that last note, they went downstairs to follow Star request.

As they leave her alone, Star could only say with sarcasm. "Sure girls, some enthusiasm would be welcome but whatever."

She started to make her way towards the stairs, but at the moment she started going down, all the lights from the roof focused on her, and the band began playing. Star was used to be the center of attention, but this was different, she didn't want this kind of attention. In school she knew all of the students that said hello to her, all of this people were strangers, just there to judge her, or seeing her as a price, and her family was... Her family.

She could swear that was the longest staircase she ever went through in her life, she could only smile as she walked down, and as soon as she finished bowing to the guests. She was swarmed by the princes, some ask her to give them the first dance, other wanted to have a drink with her, and the rest just wanted to talk for a moment.

In order to get out of this situation, Star took a hand at random and pulled the prince towards her. "Hello princess, I'm Prince..." However, Star didn't let him finish the introduction. 

"Why don't we talk by the food tables, it's quieter there." And with Prince at hand, she began her part of the mission for tonight.

The only boys that didn't swarm around Star where now supporting one of the pillars in the room, with Janna besides them, and worth to mention, only one of them wasn't drinking the wine.

"Hey Tom, remember our little bet from last time we had a drink?"

Tom knew better than to acknowledge this. "No idea what you are talking about Janna, maybe all the alcohol hit you harder than you thought."

"You two made a bet where the loser would have to do any one request the winner wants." Tom had to spit his wine, he felt the biggest sense of betrayal at the moment.

"Marco! How could you?" His friend said with the smuggest smile he could muster having no visible lips at the moment. 

"Fair is fair man, besides, I want to know what she wants."

Janna smiled at the demon for a moment, but she knew better to bring more of this topic right now. "He is going to have to tell you later Marco, right now is not the time for fun."

Tom, happy that the topic was dropped, for now, needed to know what the girls were planning. "So, when's the show gonna start?" He received only a look of confusion from Janna. "I saw Pony Head with you, are you trying to tell me that you aren't planning a grand escape, or to wreck this place up, not even a little explosion of fun?"

"Those are one hundred percent good idea, but no, if Star is planning something for the night, none of us girls know anything about it." She also knew that there was another person there that may need some help. "By the way, Marco, nice entrance, you two plan it all day I suppose?"

"Not much planned, more like, talk about it during lunch and while browsing for suits, and even with that, it was mostly Tom's plan."

"Which to be honest, worked better than expected. Could you believe this guy wanted to come early and on a gray three-piece suit? It's a party of royals damn it." He took a sip from his drink. "Besides, we are planning on visiting the renegade princesses at Saint O's after this is over. That's why we are drinking lightly in here."

Janna suddenly looked annoyed at Tom. "Whatever dude, sure hope you guys don't get too tired afterward, right now, I need to go and actually help Star." She got away from the two, angrily. Not even bothering to ask Marco about his new look.

"What's the problem with your friend Marco?"

"No idea here, I'm not the best at reading girls and you know it. The dances will start soon right?"

"Right, and it looks like we won't get to talk with Star anytime soon. So tell me, dude, you still want to continue with the plan?" He whispered this to Marco so that nobody got alerted at their intentions.

"Well, now that we know the girls don't have a plan other than playing match up, we might have to make our moves with more caution. And I want to talk with Star before the presents."

Tom nodded at him. "So in the next challenge, is me first then you, and we both go after all the rest. How does that sound?" Marco nodded in agreement, maybe their plan was a bit rushed, but they at least had one. "Still, I think we should have blown all of this and visit the renegade princesses. They get lonely there sometimes you know." This only won him another annoyed glare so he knew to shut up, or not. “I’m saying it for you, Marco, you didn’t even want to dance with Star earlier today.”

That was true, in between not wanting to get thrown out of the castle and be able to talk with Star tonight. Marco had decided at first to come in and do nothing else than the big entrance in his new suit. It was Tom’s coercing and some other factors that brought up the idea to come in with his new looks and partake on the dancing. Maybe if they treated this night as another night out, it will be easier for Marco when the night ended.

Meanwhile, the girls had their hands full for the night. Starfan was being questioned by the Princes, she couldn't help it, they had her with, 'Are you and Star friends?' Her words were flowing like a river right now, just talking about how awesome Star was, how she acted and the adventures she knew she had gone through, but maybe it was better that she didn't answer the next question.

"So, what about that last guy that pick up the sword? How do the two of them know each other?"

That question caught her distracted. One of the guys that surrounded her ask away into the air, but Starfan heard the question and answer without processing it first. "Those two are best friends, they had been living together since she first arrived at Earth. So, yeah, about her best dress..." She quickly took notice of the faces that the boys had now, first surprised, then a quick hint of anger, and lastly some fear, she couldn't see anything else as she was left alone quicker than she could process her words.

As for Jackie, she wasn't having trouble keeping the attention of the guys. She made sure to kept it simple and make small talk with one guy at the time. She could honestly see that most of them were straight up nice people, but would she choose any of them to marry? She only talked to them for a few minutes, and she had only gone through, like, four of them, and Star is going to have to do choose with even less than that.

Pony Head and Janna, meanwhile, had arranged a quick date system. The boys had all of their attention till either of the girls finish up their drink. Not that they told this to any of them, and to be honest, it did help them go through half the guys in record time. Not helping that they were the most judgmental people on that place.

The girls decided to take a breather for a while. "Yo, girl, you sure you can handle the drink? I'm a magical princess so all of this is nothing for me, but you have gone through your drinks awfully fast."

"I can handle it Pony Head, now tell me your thoughts about that last boy."

"Loser." Well, what else did they expect from her?

Janna groaned at her comment. "You said that about every one of them, every single one."

"They are Royals girl, chosen by the King and Queen themselves. I'm surprised they aren't clones of the same guy."

She just rolled her eyes at Pony Head. "You are not helping the situation like this, all I'm saying."

"And you trying to get it on with Tom is?"

Janna almost spit her drink. "The hell Pony! Literally out of left field, haven't even talk to the guy for more than ten minutes. I was just talking with Marco." She started making excuses, not really thinking if they sounded possible.

"Girl, you light up when you saw him exit the carriage, and made a beeline towards him a few minutes ago. Guy's a dick if that helps you." Pony Head decided to change the topic, let the girl make her own decisions. "What did the boys said anyway?"

"Ugh, they are going with some princesses after all of this, can you believe them?" Janna drank her wine furiously at the thought.

"That Tom is ditching you to hang up with some looser girls, or that Marco is that chill about tonight, or that we know they must have some surprise hidden for the night?"

"First of all, I'm not bother about Tom, and I'm not a loose girl at all." She took a deep sip. "And if you're so sure about them having a plan, what haven't you said something to Star?"

"Well, she is kinda busy now, besides, it's the Earth turd. You really think he is planning something amazing? Probably just something lame, and Star doesn't need to know, at the moment."

Suddenly, the trumpets began to play, signaling the beginning of dance time, each Prince had to dance with Star to prove their heart. Which, for Star, it didn't sound right from the beginning, how could dancing determine that?

Standing against a pillar closer to the dancing floor, but still away from all the guest enjoying the royals dancing. The two extra boys were talking about this part. "What did you make of this part? I know the dances are important in an event called 'The Bachelors Waltz'. But really, how could dancing be important when choosing a husband?"

Marco looked at the Princes dancing with Star, one by one, his attention was focused more on the actual dance than the people doing it. It was always the same song and steps, pretty sure it may be some standard dance that the Royals practice when they first learn to dance. The only reason they all knew how it went and the importance to the dances suddenly clicked for Marco.

"It's the synchrony that they have with Star that matters." Tom looked at his friend in confusion. "You noticed that it's the same steps for every single one of them right? That's the test, she has to decide which one of them she syncs better with."

Tom just gave those words a quick thought. "So the test proves how compatible you are with her, by dancing?"

"Right, I know about dancing, the two of you need a perfect balance or you will mess it up." Marco said with proudness in his voice.

"Having taken a few ballet classes doesn't make you an expert, you know that?" He hit Marco's arm and laugh at him.

As the Princes come and go, so did Star's stamina. She was looking more and more out of wind. She went through half of the princes before needing some time to catch her breath. She refused the wine but still accepted some of the food. Both Tom and Marco smile at the look of their usually energetic friend now trying her hardest to catch her breath.

The girls wave them over to their location, they were on the other opposite side if the room, but the boys made a quick walk towards them.

Marco was the first one to talk. "What's up girls, something's wrong?"

"Nothing dude just bored out of our minds." Jackie already had enough of the crappy wine and full of food. "What's up with the skull face Marco?" The girls had been busy all night with the other guests that Marco's new appearance was pushed down on the list at the time.

"It's a magic mask." Marco reached to his neck lift it up a bit, showing normal skin underneath. It was a neat effect, Jackie could see his fingers lift the empty space on his throat. Only that small part of the illusion disappear for a moment. "Tom order it for me. It projects an illusion on your skin to make it look like you want."

Pondering that explanation for a second, Jackie had to ask. "And why a skeleton?"

Marco put the mask back on place and then inspected his hands for a second. "A calavera actually. This thing is awesome by the way, I can even eat and drink while wearing it." He proved his point with some of the snacks on the table. The girls looked in awe as the food seemed to disappear inside his mouth, even when he swallow, nothing could be seen coming down his nonexistent throat.

Having a closer look at his face, Jackie noticed something corny and something cool. “What’s up with the heart on your forehead? To match Star’s?” Marco, indeed had a small heart in the middle of his forehead, just as pink as Star’s marks. It blended neatly with the rest of his marks so it wasn’t out of place. Jackie then asked about the cool thing. "And I didn't notice your mask changes the eyes too. Is that pattern deliberate?" Marco and Tom laugh a bit at her comments. Marco, in particular, found it funny that they even noticed them in the first place.

His pupils were a pair of decorated golden yellow flowers. But that wasn't what Jackie was talking about. In the middle of the flowers, instead of his normal looking iris, Marco had stars in their place. That visual pun made Starfan go ‘aw' when she noticed it. "A subtle message, that's all." He was told the mask would reflect part of his inner self when he wore it, so it’s not like he had any control over how he looked at the moment.

“People been giving you a hard time?” Pony Head asked from behind the girls. “I mean, if it wasn’t for you, Tom here would be the weirdest looking boy. Undead skeletons may be liked on Earth, but here…” It was abnormal for Pony Head to worry about Marco, but they were all friends in here.

Thinking for a moment, he hasn’t really put that much attention outside of his clique. “Well, the other boys don’t appear to mind, they have other things on their heads. The adults on the other hand…” Yeah, he has received some odd stares here and there. “They don’t acknowledge me or even like having me close now that I think about it. Not even Star’s family, and I have met them before.” Maybe because then didn't recognize him at the moment.

“Maybe that’s for the best. That way you can pass under the radar without issues.” Tom’s point seemed true, but he was a colorful skeleton right now. Kinda hard to slip past somebody’s radar looking like this.

After questioning him about his looks, all the friends continue talking between themselves. A few minutes after, Marco was called over by the Queen herself. All of them notice this and panicked thinking he was about to be thrown out. Nonetheless, he complied. Queen Moon took the boy behind one of the pillars so they weren’t bothered.

As soon as they arrived, The Queen had to excuse herself from the talk she was having with some of her family members, Marco bowed down to show respect. "Now, Marco, no need to bow down." She gave him a stern look which made him fear about what may happen even more.

"Don't worry boy I'm not going to kick you out, I could, but I won't." She reached out for the mask and gently took it off. "It's bad manners to hide your face when talking to someone." As soon as she took it off, small lighting came out of the mask under the head hole, his face and hands going back to normal. The mask had no face holes and was made of white, smooth, thread. Marco looked embarrassed as soon as the mask came off, embarrassed and a bit panicked. He could only look at the floor right now. "I just wanted to ask you. Why go through all the trouble to be here tonight?"

Well, he only had one answer for this. Still, saying to the Queen, not only Star's mother but the Queen, was no easy task. He gritted his teeth and say what she had told Star yesterday. "Because I love your daughter." He managed to shook away his panic and put on his determined face. "And I promise I'll be here for her."

Moon just closed her eyes and accepted his answer. "How much did Star told you about the rules?" This question took Marco by surprise.

"The basics I guess. I didn't even knew the first test was rigged till Tom figure it out yesterday." Moon began to contemplate his answer for a second. She then handed Marco his mask back and began to walk away.

"Maybe you should have stayed at home, boy. You're lucky my husband loved your entrance." With that last note, Queen Moon finally walked away. She wasn’t angry nor disappointed at Star and Marco. But she knew, from Star’s own words, that this night may be harsh on the boy.

Going back to his friends. Marco had already put his mask back on and was looking a bit down, thank his mask to hide his emotions that well. Jackie knew she needed to lighten the mood after that. None of them heard what was said, but the look on Marco's face made it evident that she was shaken by the encounter. "You guys want to dance with us?"

Tom was quick to answer. "Sorry ladies, we don't want to grab more attention than needed."

"Actually, I'll love to, besides, I'm going to need some practice if I want to show off these princes." Marco didn't have any excuses like his friend, he was bored of this place already and the Queen already knew he was there.

"Tom, I'm going to call my winning bet. You are going to dance, with me, till the dance part ends." Janna sported that huge smile, and Tom had his own shocked expression.

"But... no... c'mon... Marco!" He received no help from his friend. He quickly surrendered this battle and swore never to bet again. "Ok, but I still have to dance with Star."

"You can still do that, but right now? Buckle up, I may step on your feet, just a warning." The two of them separated from the group in order to make their way in between the people in order to get on the dance floor.

"So, how are we going to do this? It's three of you and just one Marco." The last boy had to ponder this dilemma.

"Two of them actually, don't really want to dance with an Earth Turd in front of all these people. Word might get around you know." Pony Head was out then.

Starfan came up with the obvious answer. "We take turns, first Jackie then me. I don't really know how to dance, so, hope that's not a problem."

He let a quick laugh out. "Not a problem I'll guide, what about you Jackie?"

"Oh, I know my way around the dance floor, but still, sorry if I step on your toes a bit." Again, all of them laugh, they moved to the front of the dance floor, even Pony Head follow suit. It wasn't long till Star was up and ready to keep dancing.

The bachelors had formed a line from the beginning, just waiting their turn at the side while Star calls them over one by one. They sure were surprised when, along with the princess, other two boys had gotten on the center of the dance floor, and the three of them signal a different person to accompany them to the next dance.

Star herself founded funny that Marco followed her to the floor, and it made her smile the most when the rest of her friends entered the floor. She was now surrounded by friends. While the first part of the dance she felt alone in the middle of all of this, right now, it felt like a party and all her friends were hitting the dance floor together, and Tom was there, but she couldn't ask for perfection at the moment.

Before the band could play, several other couples followed suit. The family of the Princes, Star's own family, except The King and Queen, entered the dance floor. Maybe they were all as bored as the girls just looking at the dances, or they all decided to screw the rules. Not like it mattered, nowhere it stated that more couples couldn't share the floor with Star. It really lived up the room, having all those people dancing.

This went on for the rest of the princes, with Marco alternating between Jackie and Starfan. Speaking of the three of them, they were the messiest one of the bunch. While Star was a perfect dancer, and Tom was able to guide Janna with ease, even the other couples, being royalty, were able to dance normally. Marco, on the other hand, was trying to learn this dance by just looking at it, and the girls had little experience. The mess ups were not big, but they were easy to notice while being aside better dancing couples.

"Tired already Starfan?" Marco whispered while on the close part of the dance.

"Of course not, what about you? We at least get some rest"

"I'm fine, how have you seen Star over the night?"

"Better since we started to dance with her, but still, this is the tamest part of the night. The worst is yet to come."

They look at each other, they both agree with her point, but that was more than enough reason to enjoy the moment. At the change of partner, Marco looked at his friends Tom and Janna. It looked like Janna was having a good time, watching the demon getting more annoyed with every passing dance. He quickly decided that he had suffered enough for the night, so he needed to have a talk with Janna.

As soon as the next dance started, he whispered to Jackie. "Hey, you mind if I dance with Janna while Tom dances with Star?"

She just smiled at his request. "All right, besides, I'm getting tired myself. But why?"

"Just want to see if Janna can lay off of him a bit."

She didn't know if Marco was that oblivious of the situation. "You do know Janna likes Tom, I mean... At least she is attracted to him."

His reaction answered her previous question. "Didn't notice that to be honest, they do have some chemistry at least."

Jackie got worried there for a second. "Think she has a chance?"

"Not sure, if she can hold his attention without a stupid bet they might get along well. Not sure if I want to see that." They both laugh, but this distracted them enough that they lost their footing a bit, which in turn got the attention of the rest of the dancers, making them smile.

Marco didn't let this bother him. He made a mental note of thanking the girls later, this sure was fun for him, and way better than just staying on the sidelines looking at Star dancing. Soon, it was Tom's turn to dance with Star, as he grabbed her hand to dance, Marco approach Janna before she could leave the dance floor.

"Hey Janna, wanna dance?" He offered her his arm.

Janna just smiled and accepted his offer. "Sure, why not? Always wanted to dance with death." Marco brushed off that weird sentence.

The dancing started, and while his previous partners were ok for the most part. Janna was his biggest challenge yet, not helping that he wasn't a perfect dancer, to begin with, still, he needed to talk with Janna.

"Hey Janna, how was your time with Tom, you weren't too rough on him right?" He managed to get this sentence in between avoiding getting step on by Janna.

"Eh, the boy can take it, if he plays his cards right I might show him my sweet side." She shot a quick look towards Tom in between the dance. Which he answered by looking away scared.

"Pretty sure that was your sweet side, besides, you would need to get his attention first of all." Janna looked at him angrily and then forcibly stomp his foot. "Why don't you stay focused on Star like always?"

Marco just brushed the pain away and continue the dance. "Yeah about that, I have something to say to her on our dance. Could you take Tom and clear the dance floor for us."

She gave him a smug smile. "Mr. Diaz wants to make the rest of the boys in the room even more jealous?"

He looked confused for a moment. "More jealous?"

She pointed what was obvious for the rest of their group, even Star. "Haven't noticed the looks of disgust the princes are giving you?"

Marco stole some glances at the rest of the princes in front of the not dancing guests, in between looking out for Janna's steps. Yep, they looked like they wanted him to explode right there, some of them at least, the others just looked at him with disgust. Maybe an undead prince wasn't up to standards? He knew that nobody had seen his real face, even when Queen Moon took his mask away. So it was either that or the fact he took too much attention away from them. 

"Yeah, I can see your point. I still need to talk with her, so would you mind?"

Janna rolled her eyes at him. "Ok dude, after this, Tom and I will leave you two alone."

While these two continue their dance, Star was looking annoyed and she wasn't trying to hide it.

"Hey Star, bet you never thought we will dance together again." He was just teasing, but he may be pushing her patience more than he should.

"Shut up Tom, what are you doing here anyway? You know I'll choose any of those guys over you every day."

"Hey, low blow girl, even after I helped Marco get here with style. Talking about the guy." He got close enough to her so that his whisper could reach her. "He needs to tell you something, stay sharp when you two are dancing."

Surprised, Star asked him back. "You know what he wants?"

"Sure I do, but I'll let him explain. Besides, our dance is over, gotta get back with 'makes your feet bleed' Janna."

They got separated, with Janna coming for him, but it wasn't to keep dancing. Star saw her take him away. Then, just by coincidence, all of the other couples leave the floor too. They had gotten tired after that much dancing and why not let the princess have her last dance alone?

All of this left Star alone with Marco on the dance floor. He extended his arm, asking her to dance, she giggled a little and quickly accepted it. The lack of practice wasn't a deal breaker during the dance, thought he was going at it a little sloppy at first, Star helped him pick up the pace.

Still, he wasn't focusing that much on the dance. He had something to say. "Hey, Star, how are you feeling?"

She took a minute to gather her thoughts. "Stressed, and a bit overwhelmed. Those guys could learn not to be so persistent."

"Well, they are also trying to know you, any good candidates in mind?"

Again, she needed a minute to piece her mind together. "Is more like trying to decide who's the least annoying of them... No, that isn't right." This was something that needed to be said, Star wasn't an ice queen in any sense. "Most of them are good guys, they may not be what I'm looking for in a date, but I can't deny that they are good people."

He looked worried for a moment. "Think you would be able to, you know...?"

"Choose?" She was taken aback by her own words. "Well, that's why I'm here for, right?" She tried to laugh naturally, but it was obvious she wasn't feeling it.

He knew that this was the time to be sincere. "Hey, Star, I know that I'm not one to skip on responsibilities, but you got to see this." He pulled her in closer, and stealthy open up his suit revealing the inner pocket and its content to her.

"You brought your scissors?" She only managed to get a quick glimpse of them before they got had to continue.

"Figure this was the only thing I can do for you tonight, not saying you should do it. But again, I'm not useful for anything else."

She felt bad at the sound of his words, so much in fact, that she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Leaving the two of them standing while the band played. "No, Marco, you've been helping me go through this night since day one, and from the moment you arrived. Your corny entrance, how you took the girls to the dance floor, it did manage to calm me down, you did all that."

Marco blushed, as much as he could with his mask on, before he managed to respond. "Well, the dance was more the girl's idea and the entrance was Tom’s. But thank you, now you are cheering me up. If that's a no on the scissors then, I won't bring it up again."

They hugged right there, but it suddenly dawned on both of them that this may not be the best time for it. They had been talking in place for a while now. They separated and Star bowed down, which Marco responded with the same. Still, the night was not over. Star needed to talk with her parents about the next part so Marco retreated with the rest of their friends.

All his friends had huge smiles on their faces, except Pony Head and Tom, which were stuffing themselves with food. "Cool dance you guys had there."

"Nah, Jackie, that was cute and you know it." Janna was now sitting down, trying to rest after that much dancing.

Starfan threw a huge smile towards Marco. "The cutest couple of the night I must add."

Marco looked away shyly. "You really think that? But whatever, Tom, I need you to give me my present. I want to have it ready."

Tom looked up right at him. "Don't you brought it here with you?" His words began to panic Marco.

"No, you told me you were going to grab it before we got out."

"Well, I don't have it." Tom couldn't give more than a crap right now, having dance all that much leave him so tired.

Again, this made Marco panic but he managed to keep it together. "I'm going to have to step out for a bit while I look for my present girls. Is it where you left it, Tom?" His friend shrugged, he just hoped to make it back in time.

Jackie wanted to add something before he went away. "Don't worry, we'll keep the creeps away from Star."

Marco smiled and then excuse himself to the balcony outside the room, there he exited via the dimensional portal. The girls began making their way towards Star, but they were interrupted by the trumpets, announcing the next part of the night, which was weird. They thought they would let Star rest a bit after all those dances.

"Here comes the presents, let's hope Marco makes it back before this ends." Pony Head seemed worried at the pace things were moving.

The whole room quickly changed their attention to the stage on the side of the room. Star was sitting on a golden throne, smiling and waving at the crowd. It was time for the Princes to show their worth, and they all were excited about this. All of them confident that they couldn't lose on this one.

"Hey, Tom, don't you need to stand in line with the rest of them?" Janna was asking the boy sitting next to her, which was now massaging her feet.

"We don't need to give our presents out in public. I'm just going to wait till she gets down here, and do it in private." It was a mix of that, and the tiredness that he felt after dancing with Janna that made him want to sit there and relax.

The boys came in one by one. "Princess Star, I present to you, and your warrior ancestry, this shield made of the legendary material, the scales of a mighty dragon!" She smiled and accepted it, at least her and Marco now had matching pairs.

In terms of equipment and weapons, it didn't get better than that, ornamented swords and axes not fit for battle at all. More 'legendary' equipment, honestly, what really interested her was the adventure on tracking down the materials, the reward was never as great as the adventure itself for her. Maybe that's why she was using one of those legendary items as a nacho platter.

So in a short amount of time, she had received tons of weapons, armor, and equipment of the like that didn't surprise her at all. Next came the ones with the 'deeds', at least something more interesting she thought.

"My dear Princess. I bring to your feet this great tapestry, it shows my victory against the giant monsters that roam the south mountains." She had to try hard for this smile, she no longer loathed monsters as before, and judging from what she heard from Buffrog, those monsters just keep to themselves these days, not bothering anyone.

"As you can see Princess. I have tame the mightiest of hellwolves just to present here tonight for your amusement." The beast had a muzzle covering its mouth and it looked tired inside that cage. Star couldn't determine if it was in good condition, but she knew that taming an animal didn't include beating it till you can chain it up.

Still, sitting nearby the food table, Janna was trying to get a better view of the wolf. "Ugh, can't see a thing, are hellwolves that threatening Tom?"

"Sure they are but trust me. That must be a teenager, an adult one couldn't be contained in such a tiny cage." He took a sip of his wine making conversation with the girl.

"Damn, now I want to see one for real." She said disappointed that she may never see one at full power.

Back on the stage. "Princess Butterfly, on this lockbox recedes the heart of a magic elemental. It is said that holding it towards the two moons of the Arborea dimension during the alignment will grant any wish your heart desires." She handled this one with care, magic elementals are not known for being slain easily, but for sleeping during millennia leaving their hearts as their only physical form, and the next alignment would be in a few hundreds of years anyway. So maybe this should be kept lock away for good, far, far away.

By now, Star was surrounded by presents, but none of them meant anything to her, it was starting to feel difficult maintaining her fake smile. She didn't want to sound like an ungrateful pampered girl but she saw the presents and then the boys in line waiting to be next when it suddenly hit her. She didn't even knew their names, even the ones she just talked with, she remembered them mostly by present given.

This began panicking her, she quickly looked for her friends to calm down a bit. There they were, she wasn't even paying attention to the next prince on stage right now. Janna was talking with Tom, seemed they are in their own world right now. Pony Head and Starfan discussing the food apparently, with Jackie next to them trying to keep Pony away from the drinks. This all made her smile all right, but when was confused at not finding her best friend anywhere.

She powered through the rest of the presents, she thanked for them all and as the guards took all of them away for safe keeping or nursing. She made her way down the stage to her friends, maybe she couldn't see Marco from up there. But as she arrived and found no trace of him, she felt scared.

"Hey guys... where's Marco, shouldn't he be with you?"

Jackie got worried thinking how long her friend had been gone. "He told us that he needed to get something, but now that I think about it, he has been gone for a while now."

Pony Head looked at Star, and how worried she was getting, so she spoke to the only person that had answers. "Tom, tell us where he went, you must have an idea."

"I left the gift on my house, he knew that, so I don't know what's keeping him."

Janna just spoke without thinking. "If he keeps at it, he is going to miss the rest of the event." Starfan punch her in the ribs, making her pay attention to, the now, almost white Star. "Or not, he still could surprise us."

Tom had only one thing to said, he prayed that this helps the situation. "Hey, Star, why don't you open my gift? Here it is." He pulled out from inside his blazer a little rectangular present, all wrapped up and with a ribbon on top.

Star looked at Tom with a suspicious look, he just gave her a smile back. With that, she let out a small sigh and open her present. "The Blu-ray DVD collection of famous martial artist/actor Blood Fist. This is Marco's second favorite martial artist."

"Yeah, he told me how you two have been watching kung-fu movies for a while. So this is more of a present for the two of you, not much compared to the others I know."

"Well... You didn't bring me something impractical, or abuse any creatures while getting it..." She gave him a serious look. 

"I got it while browsing suits for tonight, geez." Satisfied with his answer she continued. 

"So this is a nice present, thanks, Tom." He moved forward to hug her, but she stopped it after the first step. "Touch me and I'll throw you out myself." Tom backup with no fight.

"Oh, good." The Queen surprise the little group with her sudden appearance. "All the princes have shown their worth, we can move to the main event."

Star got scared at first, she didn't want to go through that yet, she didn't feel ready. "But... but... there's still one missing." And she wanted Marco to be there for support.

"Your friend doesn't count Star. Besides, I don't see him anywhere. Now, let's go, no need to keep them waiting."

"But... it's not even midnight yet, why are you pushing all the events forward anyway?" She was just buying time now.

The Queen quickly sighed. "After that little display during the dances I have noticed the Princes more, eager, so I thought of pushing things a bit faster."

Star was scrambling for ideas now, so she decided to try begging. "Please Mom, I don't feel ready yet, can you at least give me a couple more minutes, half an hour tops."

The Queen gave it a few second to consider. Star hasn't made any disturbances, not herself at least, or tried to run away, so. "You have thirty minutes, the bells ring, you get up on the stage, understood?"

Star couldn't help but feel sadness, at the short amount of time she had before the end of this night. "Yes mom, don't worry, I'll be there on time."

The Queen excused herself, she was being called by another group of guests, leaving Star and her friends alone. They all felt out of words, the Queen's presence was just that strong, Janna was the one that managed to break out of that silence first. "Your mom is intense Star."

That manage to lighten the mood a little, which was a good thing as now all of them could talk. "Isn't that right? Star, think you're gonna be ok?" Starfan showed her care for Star, she was scared of what might happen, to be honest.

Star began to panic, in thirty minutes she would need to choose a future husband. "Guys... please... tell me I can do this." She needed some positive reinforcement.

They all look at each other, this was a screw-up situation, but still, their friend needed them. "Sure B-fly, you can do anything." That didn't sound convincing, at all, sorry Pony Head.

"Star, what you are going to do today, doesn't define you as a person, keep that in mind." Jackie, I know that you have the best opinion in mind, but still, this comment just passed over Star's head, almost unable to be heard.

"Star, I think you are overthinking this, just..." Starfan was cut off, as Star herself felt like catching some fresh air all of the sudden.

Janna watched the scene, and couldn't tell the atmosphere, thanks to her tipsy attitude. "You can't escape your fate." She was met by some angry glares from her friends. "Sorry, could have phrased that one better I'll accept that."

Star ran to the outside balcony. There, she was able to breathe, and just breathe. There's no way she could do this, none of the princes catch her attention, she didn't feel any kind of connection with any of them. She even tried to remember the names, but not even single them came to mind. Is this what's supposed to be for her? Just pick a random guy and hope to be happy with him?

She began to tear up at the thought of being shackled to this destiny. She couldn't even take it, to be honest, she stumbled onto the balcony rails and contemplated the view. While she was still pondering her options, she heard the sound of thread being ripped behind her, while turning around, she saw her best friend coming out of that dimensional portal, still sporting that wired skeleton look.

"MARCO!" She lunged herself and grabbed him for a hug, Marco was confused at her reaction but still didn't put any kind of struggle against her affection.

"Star! Please tell me I'm not too late for the presents."

"Of course not, but never, ever, scare me like that. I thought you had bailed on me."

Marco broke the hug, and reassure her of his intentions. "Sorry about that, I wasn't able to find your present, sorry."

All of their friends that had followed Star outside and stayed by the balcony entrance, they didn't dare interrupt them. They did decide to hear what was said and to stay hidden behind the curtains.

Star analyzed her friend, he didn't have anything on him, not a box of any kind nor anything big to show her like the boys before him. She also was dying to know the why of his new look, now that they have some time to talk. "What happened to you? Did you die while going out with Tom?"

Marco laughed at her assumption, and so their friends behind the curtains. Marco reached to his neck and pulled up the mask a bit. "It's a magic mask, didn't want your parents to know who I was. Not that it mattered, you mother found out already."

"You shouldn't have bothered, really. But you did raise some eyebrows all right. The whole undead Prince look suits you by the way."

"It was more like a joke that went way out of hand when Tom and I were planning this night." They could hear Tom laughing a bit at the distance.

"Well…" Star reached out and took the mask off, giving Marco his old face back. "You don't need it now. I want to see your real face." Their friends all smile at her words. "So, you couldn't find your present?"

"I wasn't able to find it, so I had to go to the source to get a new one, just for you... To be honest… I had some second thoughts about bringing you something. I wasn’t going to be able to eclipse the rest of the presents that’s for sure. I’m not Prince Calaveras from the underworld, I'm just Marco Diaz the normal boy from Earth." Now without the mask on, Star could clearly see the emotions on his face. Right now he was nervous but wasn’t choking at all. “But then I found the perfect present and I couldn’t help it.” He smiled at her and then pulled out his present form the inside of his suit.

He presented her a pink flower, more specifically, a pink carnation, but Star could feel something off about this flower. It wasn't just any kind of flower that you can pick up from any place.

Her puzzled look gave her thoughts away. "Yes, this isn't a regular flower. I picked up from the Great Forest of The Dryads myself." He put the flower as an ornament on her hair. "It's supposed to be magic you know..." He felt embarrassed at first, but he just loved the legend that came with these flowers.

"You see if you give it to someone you love... like, love for real, it will never wilt..." Star's face jumped for a moment there, focusing more on his face than anything else. "But that's just one part of the present." He half smiled, but then started to blush like crazy afterward.

"Star, I can't give you anything fancy, or important, at all. But I can promise you that I'll always be here for you. I can't go against my feelings, as much as you can't go against your duties, but don't worry about that. I'll be your best friend no matter what turn your life takes."

Their friends had all teary eyes at his heart fell confession. It was the cutest thing they had heard all night but still manage to keep it down. Except for Janna. "That was so sweet I'm getting diabetes!" She was quickly shut up by someone and Marco manage to continue.

"So in short words, as long as that flower blooms, I'll be there for you." He gave her a quick peck on her cheek, didn't even gave her a chance to react. "Sorry about that." He separated himself from her and began making his way inside.

Marco stepped inside and stopped himself beside his friends. Now out of Star's sight, he managed to take a deep breath to calm his nerves, but before he put his mask on again Tom spoke up. "Well, getting the mask was a complete waste of time now." The girls gave some puzzled looks. "It was so that he could say all of that and don't pass out in the middle of it. By the look of how it all went, he didn't even need it." This gave Marco a look of realization on his face, yes, he indeed did all of that without the mask and didn't die of embarrassment. That made him feel proud of himself, to be honest. But he still needed it to keep it on, he did enter the castle with it.

Looking at their friend after that speech, Starfan needed to say this. “You know Marco. You don’t need to stay for what’s next.” They felt her words came a bit out of left field. But none of them could deny that it was a good option. “Yes, you just told the girl you’re going to be by her side, but I think she would understand if you called it a night from here.”

It may sound wrong for him to bail on the last stretch of the night, but they knew where they come with this. “She’s right, Marco, nobody here would blame you if you don’t want to hear her decision.” Jackie tried to dismiss any worry he may have about taking this path.

He reached for his scissors inside his suit. Just thinking about seeing Star choosing another guy to marry was hard enough. Actually being there to witness it would break him, he was sure about it. “Isn’t that why you brought your scissors?” Tom snapped him out of his thoughts. The girls looked at Tom waiting for him to continue. “You could say all night that you wanted to escape tonight with Star at hand, but you never fooled me for a second.” Tom’s words sounded a bit too harsh for him, but it was Tom, he was always painfully honest when needed to.

It was true, partially, that he brought the scissors for him, not Star. Earlier that night he was having second thoughts about coming here. He could give his present to Star next week and spare himself the broken heart. But if he did that, he would spend all night hating himself for abandoning Star when she needed him most. No matter how many princesses swarmed him at Saint O’s, Star was the only princess he would be thinking about.

Marco looked away from his friends, his eyes were beginning to water down a bit. He donned his mask once more to hide his tears from everybody. He wasn’t about to let this night unfinished nor his friend alone. “I’m fine guys, don’t worry.” He met them again and threw a warm smile to try calming them down.

Janna was the only one to approach him. She punched him in the arm and laugh a bit. “You’re an awesome friend Marco. Let’s go.” They all chuckle at her words, maybe Janna was a bit tipsier than she let it show. Nonetheless, they all made their way inside, Star’s time was about to run out and they needed to find a good place to see how it all turns out. They would have waited for Star to come out, but she looked like she wanted to be alone at the moment.

Back outside the balcony, Star was still in shock at her best friend words, but at the same time, those same words gave her courage to face her destiny. With that said, the bells began ringing, she was still afraid of what it meant for her, but now there was something that kept her from running away.

She made her way to the stage, not determined, but more at peace with her own situation. She was at the center of the stage and on top of her mother's teleportation circle. She went there thinking she would know who to pick when the time comes. The girls suddenly realize that none of them manage to tell any of the information they had to Star, there wasn't enough time, and now she was all alone up there. They will all hold their breath for the next minutes.

The Queen and King joined Star on stage, announcing the main event for the night. "Now, the moment we have all been waiting for. Right now, Princess Star Butterfly will choose the future King of Mewni, and therefore, her future husband." Then, they made their way to the sidelines.

All the lights were pointing directly towards Star, all the guest were waiting for her choice, giving her their full on attention. While the princes made their way towards the stage, keeping themselves at the front and center row of the stage. Tom and Marco kept themselves on the back beside the girls.

Again, panic struck, the lights made a little show of circling around the audience, over the princes in the front row, and then stopping directly over Star. They blinded her for a moment, but she was quick to recover.

She was there, all alone, in full view of the whole room, the Royals from faraway lands, castle guards, family, her own parents, even her friends were looking at her right now. Just waiting for her to do something.

But what were they expecting her to do? Just pick a random guy from the audience and spend the rest of her life with him? Throughout the whole night, she tried for real to find someone, at least from a connection on the couple of minutes that she had with each one of them. Not all of them were assholes or even annoying people, but they were asking so much from her now. Her parents were asking the impossible of her, this might be ancient tradition, but that's the magic word, ancient, she wasn't so much about following their current traditions, besides... *Cough cough*

Her train of thought was interrupted by her mother, from the Queen's perspective, her daughter had been standing on that stage looking at nothing for a few minutes now. The night was almost over and this wasn't the time to space out. Still, her regret was starting to show. Making Star do all of this may the harshest thing she ever did as a mother, but she had her husband at her side, and the best intentions at heart, she knew this was the right thing to do.

"She's going to freeze up there, we have to get closer." Marco managed to read her emotions all the way from behind the room and did what felt right at the moment. All of his friends followed suit behind him.

His fears were right, Star began to shake and her eyes shoot down at the floor. She couldn't help it, this situation was scaring her to the bone. Her mind draw blanks at the moment, she could have run away, she wished it was an option right now but her legs didn't respond. She couldn't move forward with this nor could she back down, she was stuck in the middle of that stage.

The silence was unbearable, not much time had passed since the announcement, less than ten minutes give or take, but the combination of all that pent up expectation from the audience, how quiet and unmoving Star was up there just made it feel like much more time had passed. That may be for the best, as her friends were able to squish themselves to the front of the stage. It was hard not to notice the teenagers walking in between the audience. Especially with one of them being a colorful skeleton.

Up front, the Princes didn't pay him much attention, most of them were just waiting for Star's response, Marco had arrived at his own spot in front, now what? He couldn't speak up, he wasn't even sure she would hear him. He was so close to her but wasn't able to actually do anything, the last few weeks in a nutshell.

He soon realized that he may not need to get her attention, Star was looking at their direction already. He had just a moment to help her calm her down. There wasn't much that he could do, deciding on just a smile, the only thing he could muster. By the look on her face, it was enough to lift her spirits. That smile gave it away, and the hope in her eyes just drove the point further. But at the same time, something made him feel unsure of what might happen next, he began to have a bad feeling in his gut, and it wasn’t that Star was about to choose another guy in front of him.

Star took a deep breath, then exhale loudly. "Sorry about the wait, all of this you know. I basically have to let nineteen guys down at the same time." This got a laugh from the crowd, leave it to Star to make this kind of audience laugh. "But no need to wait anymore, I have my decision. Still..."

She was now prancing around the stage, trying to keep her thoughts in line. "Still, I need to be clear about why I'm choosing him over the rest, I think it's fair." She took a few seconds to think, all the Princes were just dying to know the answer already.

"To be honest, choosing a person to spend the rest of your life is the hardest thing everybody could ever do. Getting to know all of you tonight, I realize that we would never be able to make each other happy. So please, don't be angry or sad if I don't choose you. You all deserve someone that loves you, be sure about it."

She took the flower out of her hair and just look at it. Marco saw this and froze into place. "I have never been so sure about something in my life. Right now I have someone that loves me with all his heart. Someone that can make me happy, and who I know, will mean the world for him just hearing these words..."

Star shoot the biggest smile she had towards Marco, she was one hundred percent sure about this, still, this called for a deep breath before saying it. "My chosen prince for tonight, the one that will stay by my side forever will be… Prince Calaveras!" Yes, Marco did not expect that, and his dumbfounded expression was proved of that.

All the ballroom went quiet as the lights centered on Marco. He now had a look of dull surprise on his face as her words haven’t reached his brain. Now it was him that was frozen, his legs didn't even respond to his demands of running away, in fact, he needed Star to shoot a blast and levitate him towards the stage to be able to get up there.

"Or more like…"Star removed his mask in one fast move and in front of everyone to witness. As soon as the mask when off, Marco’s real expression could be seen, one of shocked horror. "Marco Diaz, the normal boy from Earth!" Everyone gasped at Marco's unmasking, well, everybody that didn't know his identity already.

"You mean to tell me he wasn't a spooky skeleton!?" Janna was the only one that could speak up at the moment, her sarcasm didn't reach anyone.

Star was just so happy to have Marco on stage with her, she couldn't resist the drive to hug him harder than ever before. She threw his mask towards the audience and her arms around his neck, her grip so strong that the girls fear she would choke the poor boy. Still, Marco kept his own terrified look on his face, terrified and stunned as hell about the situation, not even a word could escape his mouth.

It didn't take long for the circle to activate, a bright light shine from underneath them before being engulfed on flower petals that sprout from the ground. All of the sudden, a shining flash of light blinded all of the audience on the ballroom, and after that passed, both of them had disappeared from the stage.

Every single one of the guest was taken by surprise, even the Queen and King were shocked at their daughter choice of Prince. But the girls and Tom had a different opinion right now, they were silent as well but not as surprised at how everything turned out. It was Tom that broke the silence at first. "Well, did anyone else saw that one coming?" All the girls nodded in agreement, it may be harder to believe if it hadn't happened right before their eyes. He reached down to the floor and grabbed Marco’s mask that Star threw away. "Well, that's it for me, want to go to the after party at Saint's O?" The girls thought for a moment, the night had been long and tedious, so maybe going out to unwind wasn't a bad idea, so they all agree with him.

Tom opened up a portal towards their new destination and lead the girls to the other side, but before he himself crossed it, he felt a little sympathy towards the rest of the boys. "Hey, rejected ones! Any of you felt like visiting the princesses at Saint's O, feel free to cross the portal." He left his portal open, just to leave the choice open for the other boys. The girls were both happy about the outcome and anxious to know how all of this might turn up.

The King and Queen were busy right now, saying their goodbyes to the guests, and just processing what had happened right there. They will need to have a long talk with the two teenagers later, but they had all of tomorrow to deal with them.

On the library, the future King and Queen of Mewni were hugging, or more like, she was still hugging him and he still couldn't process what had happened down there. Even while sporting that same look of horror on his face, he knew one thing for sure, this wasn't going to end well.

"Look, Marco! The fireworks are going off." Star signaled him to the nearby window. The lights manage to snap Marco a bit into reality for a second. She didn't break the hug, but they did sit down to enjoy the fireworks in front of the open window. Just the two of them alone, on that big empty room.

The Bachelor Waltz has ended, Princess Star Butterfly has chosen Marco Diaz as her fiancé. All in all, the night was a complete success, for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, hope you all enjoy it. I went a long way to do this one right and I do like the way it came out. That blazer look for Tom was pulled directly from Miami Vice and who doesn't want to see a skeleton in a cool suit? That's one of the coolest images one could witness.


	14. The After Party

Sitting in the booth at the end of the room. The girls from Earth, except Jackie, and Tom were talking between themselves. The weird thing about this sight was that Janna was looking more, demonic, at the moment. “This is awesome! I even have my own horns, Starfan.” She had blue skin and an extra pair of eyes at the moment, the horns she was talking about resembling Tom’s, and some fangs were sticking out of her mouth. “But this thing feels so thigh.” She promptly removed Marco’s mask and place it on the table. Turning back to normal in the process.

Tom grabbed the mask and began explaining. “Well, it was made to fit Marco in the first place. But hiding your appearance isn’t the only reason he was wearing it.” He handed the mask to Starfan, signaling her to put it on. Once she did, her face turned purple, with several stitch marks appearing all over her skin, and heavy eye bags formed under her eyes. “It’s a party disguise that reads your soul and creates an illusion that is best suited for it. But try emoting hard right now… Starfan” He still had issues calling the girl by that name.

The girl tried moving her face to mimic several emotions, all of those emotions were almost impossible to do with her face covered like it was. The best she could muster were light reactions. “See? It’s still a mask and a lower illusion, so strong emotions can’t be represented correctly.”

Thinking about it for a few seconds, the girls arrived at the same conclusion. “So, Marco wore it so Star couldn’t see him cry?” Starfan managed to look sad at her own words even under the mask.

“Yeah… guy was scared to death about making an appearance, but he wanted to be there for her no mattered what… He worried for nothing I suppose. What do you thing they’re doing right now?” Tom was worried about his friends now. Janna just looked up, leaned back in her seat, crossed her arms, and began rocking the table up and down with her legs. She laughed as her friends got what she was trying to say.

Tom laughed and hit Janna on the arm. “Don’t be nasty Janna, knock it off already.” The three of them chuckle and then saw their two extra friends approached them, drinks at hand.

“Sorry for the wait girls, they’re crazy busy at the bar. Hey, Starfan, what’s with the creepy look?” Jackie placed the drinks on the table and Pony Head began to hand them to everyone sitting.

Taking the mask off. “It’s Marco’s mask, try it.” She handed it to Jackie and prompted her to put it on. However, Jackie had second thoughts about doing it. Pony Head gave her the last push she needed it. “C’mon girl! A pretty girl like you would rock the fiend look.”

Without missing a beat, Jackie comply. It felt a bit loose for her at the beginning, but it quickly felt like normal when she began to change. Her facial hair began to grow out, keeping the same color bang on the side of her face. The hair quickly covered her face and arms, while her eyes turned yellow and her pupils became horizontal slits. Looking up, her ears had moved up and became pointy.

All of her friends checked her out, trying to figure out what she just turned into. “Maybe a werewolf? But it looks way too cat-like.” Jackie noticed her hands had turned into cat paws, she even had claws that she could unsheathe. It was good for a quick laugh but it made her feel uncomfortable quick, so she took it off and handed it over to Tom.

They were inside Saint Olga’s right now, more specifically, the night bar. The renegade princesses had done a great work transforming the whole place into a decent nightclub, but they also made a normal bar for all of the people that weren’t in the mood to party hard. The group was lucky to find that one booth to seat down, after the waltz they all needed to sit down and have a breather, or just float around in place calmly.

Starfan was happy about how the night played out for her dear friend. She has been squealing internally since she saw Star and Marco hugging on that stage. Right now, however, she planned on having a chill time with her friends, she wasn’t that much of a drinker, but she could let loose a bit while around them.

Pony Head wasn’t even bothered by Star’s decision. Hell, in hindsight, it was the only real option, and she could whip Marco into shape if need be. Another thing that came to mind was how much fun she was having with the Earth girls, and Tom. She never hangs with them without Star, but they prove themselves cool enough girls to made her question that. Usually, she would be on the dance floor part of the building, but she felt happy on the cool atmosphere of the bar.

Jackie was beginning to feel the alcohol hit her, that’s why she went with Pony Head to get the drinks. She may have been the second most worried person during the waltz, but she let out a huge sigh of relief the moment she heard Star’s decision. Maybe she saw it coming, but hopeful thinking wasn’t on her mind at that moment. Right now, however, she was to go on vacation with her family next Monday, so she decided to enjoy the rest of her night.

Tom and Janna had been beside the other since they arrived at the bar. She was more than half drunk at the moment, so she went for the light stuff. Tom was the mostly sober, so he decided to take care of Janna for the rest of the night. She had forgotten her original plan with Tom thanks to how tired she felt, so flirting with him normally was her new plan. Tom wasn’t bothered that he was missing his chance to be with the other girls at the night club. He felt in the right place at the moment, he had already warmed up to the girls and Pony Head wasn’t trying to kill him right now, so it was a good time they were having.

Those two felt the same about what happened earlier. They saw it coming, Star isn’t one to control her impulses and Marco did one of the cutest more romantic acts she had probably seen in her short life. Seeing it happen, however, they had to admit to being surprised, but more at the implications that it brought up.

Right now, however, the waltz had passed, and their friends just got engaged. This called for a celebration drink. They all grabbed the drinks Pony Head and Jackie gave them and lifted them in the air. But before that, maybe someone should say something.

Pony Head cleared her throat. “Girls, and Tom, we all had a long night, a stressful night. But we all manage to pull through it and be there for our friends. I think all of that calls for a toast…” She began to scramble for words, thanks to the alcohol, but manage to recover quickly. “To our friends, Star and Marco, good luck on their future.” They all took a sip of their drinks and decided to continue on with their night.

But none of them could drop the topic. “Think it will work out?” Janna felt light headed, she wasn’t able to watch her words with care. “What? Are we going to pretend Star’s mother doesn’t have the power to break the engagement?” 

Way to bring down the mood Janna, Pony Head was quick to shade some hope. “Damn, girl, we just had a toast for their luck, stop jinxing it!” That wasn’t the hope part, this was. “And, cmon! Why give the girl the decision if they would just yank it away in the last second?” She made a good point there, all of the presents had to agree on that.

But still, some worries came floating to the surface. “But, Marco isn’t a prince, would that be fine? Shouldn’t royals marry other royals?” Jackie also felt victim to doubt. This time was Starfan’s turn to speak up.

“He still passed the challenges. Even if he wasn’t planned to be chosen, that has to count for something… Although, he did enter a fake name and appearance… But the Queen already knew that… Let’s just say is going to be complicated. But I’m sure the two of them can make it work out.”

“Yeah, yeah, enough with the jinxing people. I say we go and lift the rejected boy’s mood, what do you think girls?” That’s the only thing Pony Head could think to do in order to change the subject. None of the girls seemed eager about her words. “C’mon, girls, they are right for the picking.” This did make them smile.

“Well, personally, I don’t feel like hitting on boys right now, but that’s just me.” Tom was quick to point out that he had to pass on her plans.

Thinking for a moment, Janna had to pass too. “And I’m dead tired, but you three should go, I’ll be here if you need me.”

Pondering the idea for some extra time, while getting some hopeful eyes from Pony Head. Jackie and Starfan decided to go along. “Fine, Pony Head, but it’s just for fun, we all got here together, we get home together.” On that last note, the three girls got up and made their way to the nightclub part of the reform school.

This left Tom and Janna to worry about their friends. “So, haven’t shaken the feeling that something is wrong? I’m feeling the same, so don’t worry” Tom was trying to easy Janna’s mind at the moment, but he wasn’t lying, he had a bad feeling about Star’s decision.

“It’s just… there was something wrong, more like, something was missing… Why can’t I just be happy for them?” Janna was getting frustrated at her worries, luckily, she wasn’t alone in her thoughts.

“Hey, don’t say that. It’s just that we worry for the two, they do need all the help they can get from time to time.” His joke did ease up the mood on the booth.

“Sorry about keeping you here by the way. I know you hoped to prey on the other princesses tonight.” By now she had finished her drink and was resting her head on the back of her seat.

“You make it sound like I’m a creeper or something. And don’t worry, I feel better here... for some reason.” He made eye contact with Janna at that moment and stayed like that for a few moments. They didn’t have anything else to say, for the time being, so staring at the other in the eyes was the best they could come up now. Soon after, the two of them decided they had stare for long enough and promptly yanked their heads to the opposite direction, their faces on full blush mode.

It took Tom a few extra seconds to be able to talk again. “Hey, Janna, give me your number.”

Looking back at him again. “Why don’t you try asking this time... Why do you want that to begin with?”

Yeah, he could be more tactful in the future. “Sorry, it’s just that… We are friends, right? What if I want to hang up with you one day and can't contact you?”

Janna chuckle a bit, she wasn’t about to say no, but Tom needed to work for it. She leaned forward, placed her elbows on the table and rested her head on her hands. “What do you think of me, Tom?”

That question surprised him. “Well… uh… You’re cool, I have to hand it to you, but you’re also a good friend and you don't take shit from no one.” He had trouble thinking up sentences at the moment, so he tried using his gut to talk for a bit. “What I’m trying to say is, you’re the kind of girl I want to get to know better.” Now he felt just like Marco must feel every time he talked with his crushes. He hoped that the interrogatory had finished now.

Well, demons are known for being smooth talkers, Janna was surprised that this wasn’t the case with Tom. It was cute, to say the least. “Do you even have a phone?”

Tom reached out to his pocket and pulled out his own pocket magic mirror. “Yeah, never tried using this to call Earth now that I think about it.” Janna then grabbed the mirror from his hands and started to pressed the keyboard. She had some practice with Star’s own pocket mirror, so she knew they worked to call in between dimensions, not that she was going to tell him that.

“Here, I saved my number, I say give it a try when you get home.” With that, a smile formed on Tom’s face. “Want to see how the girls are doing?”

Thinking for a moment. “Yeah, why not. Must be an interesting show if the princes are in the same mood that we left them.”

“Cool, but I also need something to keep me from falling asleep. Let’s go to the bar.” With that final answer. The two of them got up from their booth and went to get something that kept them awake for the rest of the night.

Starfan, Jackie and Pony Head wanted to have some fun in the lounge, maybe not hitting on the boys necessarily, but they did focus on having a great time together as friends. Tom and Janna were busy talking at the bar, they had long ago put aside the rest of the world in order to focus on the other.

Star and Marco? They had finished looking at the fireworks minutes ago, right now they were waiting for the guards to escort them to their respective rooms. Still, the princess hadn’t let go of her new fiancé, nor did she had any intention to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because It'll take me some time to finish the next chapter, have this extra small story about the side characters. I felt they needed to have a close up themselves, they had been there for Star and Marco since the beginning too.


	15. I Love You... right?

It didn’t take long to say goodbye to the guests and wished them goodnight. The Queen and King needed to be there to say see all of them out, although, not a lot was said between the Royals. They mostly responded with a light nod or a quick roll of the eyes, they sure didn’t respect nor approved of Star’s decision, and weren’t shy about showing it. Didn’t help that most of them saw their children follow the princess’s friends and that demon through the portal.

Once the last group of guests had gone away on their carriages. Queen Moon had to exhale loudly. She was still surprised at her daughter's decision. “Yeah, I know dear.” King River held hands with her. “Who would have thought that skeleton was Marco!? I mean, totally out of left field.” Moon could only roll her eyes at her husband’s obliviousness.

“Is that really the only thing that surprised you River?” By this time, they were back at the ballroom, eating and drinking some of the leftover food and wine from the event.

“Well, that entrance was fantastic too…” Yeah, he needed to stop fooling around, Moon was looking more annoyed by the minute. “I know what you mean sweetie. But she was so happy up there didn’t she?” He began to smile right there.

Even when it just happened a few minutes ago, she smiled at that memory. Moon had to admit to had smile from ear to ear when she saw how happy Star was when she chose her friend as a fiancé. Still, that wasn’t enough to keep her from worrying about everything that happened. “She was, and we have seen that look on her face before. The day she got her wand that same look appear on her face, and a few minutes later…” It was a painful memory, to say the least.

River had to agree with that thought. “Well… yes, she did went a bit out of hand. But this is different from that. It’s Marco, I’m sure we have nothing to worry about.” He tried to smile but only an awkward smile could be muster.

“And you know, we still need to talk with those two. There’s too much that needs to be discussed. The boy isn’t even royalty, to begin with.” She felt all the frustration building up and giving her a headache, or maybe the wine was acting up.

River thought for a moment and then began chuckling a bit. “Did you see the look on his face? Wished the royal painter had been there to capture it.” And Moon laughed a bit too. “I’m sure he still has it, and that Star is still hugging him.” Again, that mental image was too much for Moon to contain her laughs. It took both of them a few seconds to compose themselves after that, Moon was laughing at those thoughts and River was laughing because he enjoys seeing Moon laugh. “You know what it reminded me? That look on your face when the doctor said you were pregnant.” With that last note, Moon emptied her wine glass on top of him.

“Hey! What’s the matter?” He was taken by surprise at Moon’s actions.

“You know I don’t like to remember that night. Speaking of the two, what do you think they are doing right now? What could the boy be thinking about all of this?”

The moment Marco saw Star reaching for the flower he gave her on top of that stage, Marco could only think. “What?”

After she removed his mask and said his name for everyone to know. “What?!”

When she hugged him in front of everybody, were teleported to the library and were looking at the fireworks together. Marco had just one question. “WHAT?!?!?!?!”

Now, what could be said after they were taken out of the library? For starters, they didn’t stay there for a long time. Soon enough, the guards escorted them to their rooms. Star had this to say when they arrived at her room. “I want Marco to stay with me tonight...” She said still holding him in a tight hug, she hadn't broken it since they appear in the library, and it seemed that she had no intention to do it anytime soon. 

“We are going to get marry soon, might as well get used to it.” She shot the guards her biggest smile, she didn't even notice them glaring daggers at Marco. But she had no luck, the guards were under strict orders from the Queen to show each one to their respective rooms. Star gave him a quick peck on the cheek, whispering in his ear. “Don't worry, I'll find a way to sneak out.”

Marco, again, had this to say on his mind, again. “What?!” Her comment made him blush like crazy, that kiss didn't help either. 

The guards showed him to his room for the rest of his stay in the castle, they made sure to keep things clear in between them. “You know Prince, we were the princess's caretakers long ago. It will be just so unfortunate if we found out someone broke her heart, how will you describe our reaction pal?” He referred to the guard next to him, to which he responded by picking up a stone statue on the hallway, and compact it into a ball, not break it, compacted it as if he was crushing paper into a ball.

Marco just watched in horror, clearly, the message went through. The guards leave once they reached the door. Which gave Marco some time to think about what was happening to him, did all of this just happen? Did Star really just chose him? Does this mean...?

He shot all of those thoughts away and decided to get changed and go right to sleep. Maybe this was just a dream and tomorrow he would wake up in his own bed, and all of this would be just fantasy. He found a pair of pajamas in the drawer and after a quick change, he decided to just lay on the bed. As soon as he rolled into the blankets, something hugged him from behind. He would have been surprised if he didn't already have an idea of who it might be.

“Told you I'll find a way to sneak here. Let's go to sleep, I'm dead tired too.” Still, he dismissed this as an extremely good dream, there was no way Star was spooning him right now. “Just wake me up early tomorrow, I don't want to think what my parents might say if they found us like this.” Yes just a dream, that flirtatious tone was just his mind showing him what he wanted.

“Marco, I know this took you by surprise, but when I saw you down there, with that smile on your face. I knew it, of all the guys there, you were the only one that could make me happy.” She hugged him even closer than before. “Thank you for your feelings, Marco, they helped me keep going there. I hope they will do the same in the future.”

Marco didn't have an answer to those comments, but he knew they were sincere. Still, there was something in between the lines that bothered him. This was by far the best thing that had happened to him, the girl of his dreams had chosen him to marry her but it didn't feel right for some reason. Why couldn't he be happy for once in his life? Maybe he should accept it and move on with his happy life.

“... No, can't do this.” Marco free himself from the hug and sat on his knees. “You can't expect me to roll with you in all of this and be cool about it.” Star was surprised at this outburst, she stood up and faced Marco.

“But, Marco, aren't you happy? This is the best outcome for today. I don't know what’s bothering you.” She tried to wave away his worries with a smile. Star, honestly, didn't saw any problem here.

“Star, you really think your parents will let this fly? What about my parents? And... and... what got into you after we left? You didn't stop hugging me till the guards separated us.”

She laughed at how he was losing it right now, for her, this was just something he does from time to time, and she found it cute. “I was happy that’s all, and leave my parents to me I'll talk with them. Marco, I know this may be scary, but we are together in this. Have some faith.”

Marco wasn't convinced. “But Star...” She pressed her hand on his mouth, she didn't want to hear any more of his nonsense worries this late at night. “Marco, we can talk about this tomorrow, it was a long night and I just want to sleep.”

That was the last thing she said before she rolled to her side and proceed to sleep. They could have finished this on a better note, but at least they could agree on one thing, they both were tired and whatever problem he had could wait. Still, Marco was feeling uneasy, there was something wrong about what Star said. Is not that he didn't want to marry her, at the right time, and still he hoped to at least date for some time before agreeing to this.

His eyes started to close, even as his mind raced with this thoughts. He needed to speak with Star in urgency, he had never felt so distant to her before now, even if she was sleeping in the same bed as him.

The next morning, however, he woke up alone in bed. As he was looking for something to wear for the day, some servants arrived in order to hand him a change of clothes, and help him to get ready. He declined the assistance but accepted the new formal garments.

After he bathed and got change, the guards from last night called him outside. They had work to do with him. “Prince Marco, the Queen, and King request that you be present with them for breakfast, we are here to escort you.”

Marco followed them to the table, he still felt intimidated by the guards, which didn't bother them in the slightest. Soon as he entered the dining room, he noticed that they were waiting for him to start eating. “Sorry about keeping you waiting. I had some trouble getting into these clothes.”

This won no reaction from either the Queen nor King, Star, on the other hand, rushed to grab his hand and invite him to take a seat beside her. “We just arrived too so don't worry. Now eat up, today we have a whole lot of things to go through with you.” Star sounded so anxious about today, but Marco had to know something right now.

He asked the whole table in order to get a real answer. “Are your parents all right with this Star? I'm not even royalty, to begin with.” Star got surprised at his question, and she wasn't expecting to have this talk with their parents so early. She indeed hasn't talked with them about this, maybe it was the fear that what she wanted couldn’t happen.

Queen Moon inhale and then exhale, the truth needed to be said. “There's no problem at all.”

King River began to smile right now. “You see, boy, that tradition doesn't say that the boys that part take need to be royalty. As long as they pass the challenges they are suitable candidates.” The teenagers gave their full attention to the King. “In fact, the first boy to be chosen was a stable hand that fell in love with the princess.”

Marco shot a confused look towards Queen Moon. “I even gave a book to Star that said all of that. But sure enough, she didn’t even bother opening it up. Could have saved you two a bunch of worries from the beginning.” Queen Moon manage to hide her smug smile and Marco looked to Star with an annoyed face, Star just looked away shyly. “Besides, Star already showed us that lovely flower you brought her. Don't take it the wrong way boy. We... I would have preferred my daughter choosing someone else, but you can't go against matters of the heart.” The Queen looked more resigned than disappointed actually.

What surprised Marco, even more, is that Star had the flower pinned to her hair. It looked beautiful, she, looked beautiful wearing it. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed the flower till now. “So is this all? Are you not going to break the marriage? You don't even have a problem with me being from Earth?”

King River laugh at these accusations. “Marco boy! We trusted Star with the decision from the beginning, that was our plan all this time, for her to choose on her own.”

“That is unless you don’t want to marry her.” Queen Moon wasn’t trying to be mean, she just wanted to cover all the aspects of this marriage. “All the other boys there went through all of that because they wanted to marry Star. You were just there to help a friend.” She had spoken with Marco about his feelings last night, she knew he loved her daughter. But loving somebody and wanting to marry that person are two, very, different things.

Marco had trouble answering at that moment, not because he didn’t want to do it but because he was in front of Star's parents and was about to agree to marry the love of his life. Who was now sitting right beside him. “Well… I would have wished we at least dated before getting married.”

After hearing that, Star grabbed a hold of his hand before speaking up. “Don’t worry about that Marco, we’re going to have a ton of time to date. We aren’t getting married till we grow up. Right?” She looked at her parents before continuing. They both nodded in answer. “See? There’s nothing to worry about.”

He still felt nervous about the situation, but Star’s words lifted up his spirits. “I mean… if there really is no problem here. I’d love to marry Star, your Majesties.” Maybe all of his worries hadn’t gone away, but that didn’t stop him from hugging Star.

Moon couldn’t help it but smile at the two of them, maybe the two of them could work out after all. The same could be said for River. “So happy for you Star. Now boy, what you said earlier is true, you aren’t royalty. This means you have a lot to learn about our world before you two get married.”

“But enough talk for the moment, now eat up you two, we are going to be busy talking about your future all day.” As the Queen instructed, the teenagers began to dig in, they did have a long day ahead of them, so they need all the energy they could get.

The first part of the day was the tour of the castle. The obvious choice, if he was supposed to be the ruler, he needed to know his castle, all the rooms and the ways around. First, they went through the common rooms, library, armory, studio, and the like. The Royals kept some parts of the castle hidden for when the time was right thought, but Star whisper onto him when she noticed it. “I can show you the real secret passages later, and some awesome places too.”

Next was the logistics of the castle, where the servants worked, how they got things in and out of the castle. They visited the barracks to know the high command of the guards. Star treated them as extended family, and the guards did the same. They still weren't friendly with Marco at all thought, they were acting more like Marco had expected Star's parents to act.

After some hours, the tour was over and it was already lunch time, they thought of eating outside on the gardens, King River's idea. During lunch, the King decided to make some conversation with Marco. “So boy, what do you think of the castle, magnificent isn't?”

Marco busy thinking right now. “What? Oh yeah, it's amazing, never seen anything like this before.”

All of the presents noticed how distracted he had been all day, surprisingly, it was the Queen that confronted him. “What's been bothering boy, it isn't the chance of scenery I can tell that.” What was bothering him now? “I thought you would be happy after yesterday, for what Star had told us about you two.”

Both teenagers blushed at her comment. “It's just that, I can't believe any of this, like at all, is this really happening?”

Moon was confused at his attitude right now. He wasn't getting cold feet about it, she can tell that. “Yes, my daughter did choose you as a husband, and The King and I gave our blessing.” 

The King added some words of wisdom. “I know what they say about things seeming perfect, but I say, we are happy that Star found someone she loves and loves her in return.”

Star grabbed his hand at that moment, maybe he just needed to accept it. He gets to spend the rest of his life with the girl of his dreams, and her parents are cool with it too. “Maybe you are right. I'm just getting scared for no reason.” He smiled at Star's parents, and tighten his grip on her hand.

All lunch was filled with laughs, mostly Marco and Star recapping their adventures to her parents, it was a charming quality time they spent sitting at the gardens just talking. A formal meeting with the parents of his future wife.

The King suddenly thought of an idea. “This reminds me Marco boy, we need to talk with your parents about the engagement.”

“Think they'll have a problem with it, Marco? I mean they already think of me as family, but this is something different altogether.” Star looked almost as worried as Marco.

“We can bring them the news together, but something tells me, they'll be happier than ever when we say it.”

The Queen took a look at the time and quickly got up. “My, we need to make haste if we want to see the town before sundown.” The whole table quickly finished the rest of their meal and made their way towards the castle gates, and into the already prepared carriage.

On the town, all the villagers bowed down and treat them with respect, as expected, but what Marco found interesting, was that they weren't afraid of the Royals. It was obvious that they weren't unfamiliar about walking amongst the people, they laugh with them and were kind to them.

Marco could never have a clear read on how their kingdom could operate, or how the Royals acted when on the work. He knew how the King was when outside the public eye, on his own free time. Seeing that the two of them were, in fact, good people at all times made him smile.

The tour around town was a fast one, it was more about Marco knowing the surrounded area, and for the subjects to know him, for them to know that who the future King will be. For all accounts, Marco seemed like a good fit interacting with people, he was polite, well spoken, and all of them liked him.

As the sun began to set down, they all made their way back to the castle, they decided to have dinner together and call it a night. As they made their way to the dining room, Marco stopped Star to tell her something, her parents stopped just a few steps in front of them just to wait for them.

“Hey, Star, I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I was so scared last night, about what may happen between us that I forgot to enjoy my moments with you.”

Star smile, but she also felt embarrassed, her parents were just a few steps beside them. “Well, it's what you do Marco, but I'm happy that you have faith in me, in us, I really am.”

“I do now… Star, I’m so happy knowing that you feel this way towards me, it just…” Marco got distracted by her eyes. He was so busy admiring Star's blue eyes that he almost forgot what he was going to say next. “Star, I love you.” He shot her the biggest smile he could muster, waiting for her response.

Star smile back at him, she was blushing so hard right now. “Aw, thanks, Marco!”

Marco jumped back at her answer. “No, Star, I love you, for real.” Again he smiled at her.

Star giggle, maybe he likes saying it. “I know Marco, I appreciate it.”

His face drop, and he began to feel a heavy knot setting on his chest. Star can't be this clueless, she must be playing with him. She chose him to marry, there’s has to be something there. Third time's the charm, maybe. He took Star's hands and brought her forward. “Star, listen to me...” Please get it. “I love you.”

Star was worried about him now. The Queen and King had already figured it out, they felt bad about not seeing it before. Right now it wasn’t looking good at all for the two of them. But they had to at least gave Star the opportunity to get what he was really saying. “Marco, what's wrong? I know you love me, I have known for a long time now, and you know that it makes me so happy that you feel this way.” She tried calming him down with a hug.

But Marco didn't take it, he blocked her arms before they reached him and pushed her back gently, which surprised Star. But what really shocked her were the tears, his tears. They weren’t a lot, one on each eye, but they were matched up with a stunned expression on his face.

It hit Marco like a brick to the back of the head. Star didn’t love him, at least, not the same way he loves her. That was all he could think at the moment. It broke his heart the more he thought about how everything fitted in place. This realization took a few seconds, afterward, he dry his tears and compose himself. “Sorry about that Star… I don’t feel hungry, to be honest… I’ll be in my room.” He walked away towards his room, he didn't want Star nor her parents looking at him right now. Star was about to run after him but her father stopped her before she could take off.

“No sweetie, he needs some time alone, and we three need to have a talk about what just occur.” All three of them made their way to the dining table, as they sat down Star spoke up.

“What happen there? We were all having a great time, what took over him?” Her parents were disappointed at her, too bad, he would have worked out. But they have to talk with Star, she needed to understand what went wrong, it was either that or wait for her to get it on her own. 

The Queen needed to leave it simple, she didn't want Star to thought this was her fault. “Star, how do you feel about your friend? More importantly, why did you chose him?”

Star didn't take long to form an answer. “Because we are best friends, and he loves me for real. I know he would do anything for me and I'll do the same for him.” Those were the magic words that made it click for Star’s parents, which made them feel even more guilty. Star got so focused on Marco loving her, that she totally forgot to ask herself if she loved him back.

Queen Moon dropped the bomb right there, the sooner the better. “But do you love him? Could you say that you can spend the rest of your life with him, and love him like he loves you?”

Star was taken aback by those questions, she had already asked them before the waltz, but she still had no answer to them. “I... I know that I'll be happy with him, but...” She gave it a quick thought, it didn't take long to figure what went wrong back there. “I don't know how I feel about him... I... I screw up big time, again.” It was true. Star knew she loved Marco, but in what way or if it was real love was completely unknown to her. The mere thought of all of this confused her to no end. Marco confused her to no end. Maybe making her choice on the fly and hope for the best wasn’t a good idea at all.

Her father approached her to calm her down. “You need, to be honest with your feelings before you can be honest with Marco.”

“Your father is right Star. I'm sure that no one wants another waltz, and if your father and I can be honest for a moment.” It wasn't painful for her to say it, more like, it saddened her. “He is a nice kid, and deserves better than a loveless marriage.” She knew Star all her life, and Marco for less than a day, and she still took his side on this. But she wasn't ready to let her daughter down, this was all Moon's fault in a way. So now it was damage control time, she and River may still be able to save their friendship if nothing more.

“I should go and talk to him, I made him feel like crap. He needs to know how sorry I'm right now.” Again she was stopped by her father, he shot her a reassuring smile before talking. 

“No sweetie, don't think he wants you to see him right now, he is probably a sobbing mess I tell you.” He shut up after seeing how worried Star began to look. “But don't worry, he just needs a quick man talk. Let me grab a quick snack before departing.”

“Good idea dear, he must be starving by now.”

“Well, I'll bring two platters then.” He made his way to the kitchen, already preparing his talk with Marco as he marched on.

Star still had that worried look on her face, or maybe it was more fearful. “Don't worry Star, your dad can bring the best of people sometimes, and it's either him or me.” The Queen calmed Star with her smile, but she turned to real talk all of the sudden. “Besides, we need to talk magic right now.”

Her mother began making her way down the hallway, but Star just sat still, not sure if she heard her mother right. “Now? Don't we have bigger problems?”

Queen Moon stopped in her tracks. “No, Star, now more than ever you need to know the origin of your powers, it will not only help you understand your situation, but it may help you out of this problem.” Star was shocked at her words, as her mother began walking again, Star followed her down the hallway. This was something she needed to hear.

A few minutes after this. Marco was holding the door of his room at full strength, just hoping to hold it long enough for the King to surrender and just go away. If only he could be so lucky.

“Marco boy, I'm just bringing your dinner for tonight...” He slammed himself against the door again while the guards stood around holding the food platters. “... Besides, can't a father talk to his future son in law for a moment?” He paused for a few seconds, hoping Marco had let his guard down before he slammed himself again.

“I can go without dinner for the night, besides, I'm not an idiot. You guys are already thinking about breaking the engagement. I'm sure of it.” He tried reaching something to barricade the door, but to his disappointment, nothing was at arm’s reach. Again the King stopped pushing, but Marco didn't fell for it, he braced himself for a stronger push any second now... any second now... any seco- nothing's happening, not even a sound from the other side… did he just win?

Just to be sure, he quickly ran towards the dresser to block the door with it. As soon as he had step away from the door, a loud crash could be heard originating from it. King River just drove one of the statues straight through it, exactly where Marco was standing a few seconds ago.

“Oh, I'm sorry my boy, the door was stuck, and you probably couldn't hear my knocking.” He took the platter from the guards and excuse them from their duties, he wanted a private talk with Marco.

But Marco was thinking otherwise. “Well, thanks for delivering dinner...” He reached for a platter, and the two of them stood there, he wanted the King to leave him alone so he didn't say anything. River wanted him to open up, but maybe that whole door business was enough of a signal.

“Well, I'll begin, you can just answer.” He grabbed a handful of food and began eating. This could be seen as just him stalling for time, but he was actually taking a look at Marco, and the rest of the room.

Aside from the improvised battering ram still stuck on the door, the rest of the room was speck clean, but the servants only clean at the mornings. This meant Marco clean up his room as soon as he got there, that's awfully fast. Maybe that’s how he deals with stress, River knew Marco must be trying hard to keep the topic out of his mind. Getting him to open up will be difficult to say the least, so he got to the point from the start. “Marco, can I ask really quick, what do you think of my daughter?”

Marco still didn't touch his food, and that question didn't help him regain his appetite. “…She means well, always, she does what she wants whenever she likes, but not out of greed or meanness... Don't think she is even capable of that in the first place.” Quickly, a heavy feeling began to set on his chest. “I mean, how amazing can she be? To care so much for the people she loves. I know her well enough to know she always means well, with everything she does.” Again he had to fight the tears, it didn't felt right to let the King look at him this way.

Maybe Star picked him out of pity or just because he was the best option available. No matter the reason, Marco knew he couldn’t be angry at Star. All the stress from the waltz didn’t help her think straight, and she probably thought marrying her best friend would be awesome. Above everything else, Marco knew Star didn't mean to hurt him in any way.

But, dammit, it hurts so much realizing the person you love doesn’t love you back. He should have seen it before, he could have, but he was so focused on everything else that it went past his radar. He began stuffing himself with food, and in between handfuls, he managed to ask back. “Could you please tell me, why did you and the Queen make her go through the waltz in the first place?”

This didn't bother the King, if he wanted a heartfelt talk with the boy, he needed to be ready for those kind of questions and the occasional insults. “You got to understand...” No, he wasn't making up an excuse. “The truth? We felt that Star had gotten just so out of control. Losing the book and Glossarick? You don't even know how much that matters, or on how big a scale.”

“We may not be proud of that decision, but we wanted to give her stability. For her to have someone else to worry about in her life. She can't go through her life and duties without emotional support, the kind not even family can provide.”

Marco just listened, he didn't care about inter-dimensional culture differences anymore. “You wanted to give her a leash, nothing more than that. Didn't you two thought for a minute about how this could mess her up.”

River controlled himself, shouting at Marco wasn't going to help his case. “Of course we did, we lose sleep over it because of it, appetite, we felt ashamed of ourselves. And every time we thought about backing down, we turned around and decided to keep going, together.”

Marco felt sorry for them, but still, he couldn’t shake the feeling he had from before. “And that’s what's most important in marriage right? To stay together, even on the hardest times.” He looked hopeless right now.

“Yes, more than happy times, marriage is a two-way street, trust, secrets, pain. There's no 'I' in marriage.” Marco gave him and incredulous look. “Not my best choice of words I know.” He still had one more thing to say to the young boy. “So, we agree that marriage doesn't go just one way. We will accept your decision on how you want to proceed from here, even Star would understand. I’m sure of it.” It was better for the boy to back down now, who is to say the two of them can’t patch things up between themselves later on?

He thought about it, for two full seconds. For what the King had told him before, he didn’t have a real choice here. “As long as Star doesn't want to break it, I'll continue with the marriage.”

This surprise the King more than it should have. He still kept his cool, trying to think on how to proceed. “Are you sure? A loveless marriage is no joke, Marco.”

Thinking for a moment, the ideal solution to this came to mind. “Then, keep up my marriage with Star till she finds somebody else then… she can marry… someone she loves.” It was painful for Marco to say those words, to say the least. “I know what you said, a two-way street. I also know that you two will make Star go through all that again. Maybe not as big as the waltz, but another arranged marriage is surely in her future.” He had already finished his meal and felt determined right now. “One thing is being trapped on a loveless marriage, another is seeing the girl I love doomed to a loveless marriage.”

River needed to persuade him of this, but it needed to sound good. “Marco, listen here, is not that she doesn’t love you…”

Marco just handed him his now empty platter and showed him the exit. “You can tell Star my decision and let us deal with this on our own.”

River wasn't about to back down now. ”I’m sure if you...”

Marco wasn't having any of it. “Thank you for the food, your majesty. Goodnight, don't worry about the door.” River knew better than to discuss the topic further with him. He had gone to anger and had completely closed up at the moment. River was sure that not even Star could talk to him right now. As he left, Marco sat on his bed a began processing all that happen.

Meanwhile, at the Queen's studio on the other side of the castle. Queen Moon was showing Star advanced magic spells. But it didn't matter how cool it was making seeds bloom, and creating 'real' illusions. Star's mind wasn't fully focused right now.

She expressed her annoyance with a groan and throwing her hands in the air. “Yes mom, we know you're better at magic than me. How does this help me understand my powers?”

“See, Star, that's two principles that you lack, patience and observation. You have had your wand for a while now, had you never notice how it worked, not even a bit?” Star just gave her a blank expression. “C'mon, did your magic wand never did something weird that you felt was, wrong?”

“Well, there was this time at school, when I was so angry I accidentally shoot a cherry lemonade blast that destroyed the restrooms. But the weirdest thing was, the wand began to glow a weird color just before that.”

“Cherry lemonade? Doesn't matter, that's what I'm talking about. Star, your anger made you lose control and cause that magic explosion, what does that tell you?”

Star gave it a few more seconds to thought about it, the answer seemed easy, but nothing is ever easy with her mother. “My emotions affect my spells?”

It was a start at least. “Affect, power, amplify, control, and sometimes even derail them. Your emotions play the biggest part on the way you cast spells. Keep them under control, you will master your powers.” The Queen approached her daughter, putting a supporting hand on her shoulder before giving her a dread warning. “But if you ever let them control you, even those closest to you will be in danger.” After that quick warning, she sat down on one of the chairs, she invited Star to sit beside her to have a quick talk. “Tell me about that magic explosion, what trigger it?”

Star was a bit scared by that previous warning, so she wasn't about to keep anything to herself about the topic. “Some girls were saying some awful things about Marco and another friend of mine, one of the girls that came yesterday.”

The Queen quickly pondered her words. “You said it was anger, but tell me, did the magic wand glow a specific color?”

It didn't happen long ago, so the memory was somewhat fresh. “Green, does it really matters?”

“It may be corny, but yes, different spectrums of emotions manifest as different colors. So when two emotions are alike they will show the same color. So at first sight, it may be difficult to know what you were feeling exactly.” Star seemed lost right now, she got the basics, emotions have colors, simple, but she had never been the best at knowing how she felt all the time, especially about negative or overlapping emotions. “But anger is not green. Star, you need to be honest with your feelings, you can't go around saying you don't know how you feel about something or someone.”

It was obvious who this someone was, but knowing it didn't make it any more easy thought. “But it's true mom! I don't know how I feel. Be honest here, how did you know you wanted to marry dad?”

The Queen answered her deadpanned. “You mean to ask, how I knew I'll spend the rest of my life with him. When did I know it was real love, or how we started dating?”

This took Star by surprise, and with a shy tone on her voice, she answered. “All three of them I suppose.”

Giving it a quick thought, she managed to put her mind together. “I'll start with the boring part. From the beginning, I knew that we were to get married in the future, but he always tried to impress me. For him, I was the greatest person ever, I wasn't a magical princess, I was his best friend.” Star's heart melted a little, she never knew this side of her parents, it was so cute.

“After some time together, we were already old enough to marry. Few weeks before the ceremony, I find him getting more and more into fights, coming home with more wounds by the day. I confront him about it and he tells me that he is scared.”

She began to smile at the memories. “Not at the wedding, he scared that he is not good enough for me. That he needs to be even stronger to stay at my side. It's weird Star, to be honest, we have our magic so we can take care of ourselves, and your father knows it, but still, he felt that it was his duty as boyfriend and husband to be able to stand as equals and even to protect me if the need arose.”

This rang too many bells for Star. “Know how you feel mom, Marco is so overprotective of me at times. It bothers me that he thinks I need a knight at all times.”

“It's not that Star, your father wasn't about protecting me or just caring for his pride, he was scared. Scared of being a burden, of not being able to be with me at all times, he was scared of losing me. That's when I knew he loved me and how much I loved him back, we make each other better and we always want to bring up the best of ourselves for the other.”

Star tear up a bit, it was the cutest story she heard about her parents, so far. Something else, something familiar, hit her deeper in this situation. “How is it different? Knowing you love someone and want to spend the rest of your life with him.”

The Queen had to think really hard for a moment, she didn't have all the answers prepare at the time. “To put it simply, it’s all about commitment. To realize you’re no longer alone for the good and bad times. That you can, in fact, count on someone else to be there with you when you need it and that you’re ready to do the same for that person.”

A huge look of amazement began to set on Star’s face. “I think your father and I realize we wanted to marry at the same time. I mean, we were already going to get married but wanting it is different like I said, it was all about commitment. It's the corniest story of all three but I always thought it was the sweetest one of them all.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “We were in the castle while they were redecorating one of the sections. We were having a heated argument over what we should build, we argue and argue for hours. He finally stood down and leave the construction to me, but after some days, that fight was still on my mind. I felt so bad for him that I decided to cut the room in half so we could both get our way.”

Suddenly she began to laugh at her own memories. “And that's why we have an armory just beside the library. When I showed to your father we laugh so hard we felt to the ground, it was there that we knew spending our life’s together wouldn't be so bad.”

Now Star was laughing on her chair now, surely, she wasn't expecting this kind or corniness from her mom, but what surprise her was the stern voice tone her mother suddenly took. “Star, you told us that you wouldn't forgive yourself if you broke Marco's heart, and I know you didn't mean any of what happen, but you own it to him, to be honest about how you feel.”

This not only shocked Star, it scared her big time, but she was still in honesty mode right there. “I do care about him, he's the sweetest guy I've ever known. In such a short amount of time, we became best friends, and we'll do whatever for the other… but… I can't say if it's true love... I just don’t feel ready.” She cleaned the tears appearing on her face before continuing. “I was even ready to marry him, and now I have to decide if I'm in love with him, then, we can start dating. I'm just going through all of this backward don’t it?” She again had to clean her tears, only this time, there was no end to them now. “I'm horrible! I hurt the most important person in my life. I don't... I don't deserve his love!”

Queen Moon got up so she could hug her daughter, Star needed her mother now more than ever. “Star, don't say such things about yourself, they are not true. I know for sure that you two can go through this, you are his best friend, you can do anything together.”

None of that was a lie. Moon wanted somebody that could support and help her daughter grow in ways neither she nor her husband could do. After witnessing all that happen in the last weeks, how much Marco has been helping Star through one of the hardest times, and the relationship this two share. Moon didn’t want to figure out Star’s feelings, that was Star’s work right now, but she did want to make sure Star didn’t lose such an important person in her life.

Suddenly another person hugged them, picking them both in the air. It was King River coming back from his talk with Marco. “Sweetie, there’s no need to cry, we are here for you.”

They stayed like this for a while, it was only when Star manage to calm down a little that she manage to ask. “What did he said?”

Still hugging her he answered. ”He wants to keep the marriage going, at least till you find some else.”

She hugged her mother closer after hearing that. “I don't want someone else. I want to marry him.”

For Moon, this might have sounded like a declaration of love, but she knew how impulsive her daughter could be. “Then get some clarity. Star, the only person that truly knows how you feel, is yourself.”

“But you can't force yourself to love someone. So even if it's not love, you have to tell him the truth. Promise us that you will do it.” River knew how to lay it clear for her, so she had no doubts on her mind.

“I promise you both, all day tomorrow, the only thing in my mind will be figuring this out. You can tell that to Marco.” She didn't know how she’ll do it, or even how long it will take her to figure this out, but it was her only option.

After that family moment, Star decided to call it a night. Tomorrow she would focus all her mind and energy into figuring out if what she felt for Marco was real or not. Maybe she could figure out how to do that while at it too. Star still lost sleep over everything that happened. She just wanted to apologize to her friend and she knew she needed to wait for a better time, but it was killing her. Every time she closed her eyes there he was, crying.

She had done it before, so sneaking into his room was still an option. Against her best judgment, and that of her parents, she quickly made her way into his room. It was only a matter to make a short jump into his room's balcony. Once there, she managed to take a quick peek inside from the balcony’s window.

But she couldn’t see him anywhere. She felt scared at first, because this meant she was going to enter in order to find him. Opening the door, Marco was quick to meet her, blocking her path and pulling the curtains as to block her view from the inside. “Star! Wha… I mean… Hello.” He gave her a forced smile, it was clear that he was taken by surprise.

And she was just as nervous as he was. “He… hey… I… uhm, How you doing?” Yeah, this was a bad idea.

“Great, thanks for asking… Can… can I help you with something?” This may take a while.

Star was quick to follow her instincts. “I… am… going to sleep here, with you.” Mental note, don’t trust your instincts ever again.

Marco, again, blushed at her words. He did want to keep the marriage going, so this wasn’t unusual for Star to ask. It was weird, no doubt about that, but Marco knew this was Star’s way of saying sorry. “Yeah, don’t take it the wrong way but, I feel like being alone for a while. I’m sorry.” And there was one more thing he needed to apologize for. “I’m sorry about how I acted earlier too. I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me anymore.” He smiled at her before finishing his thoughts.

Star’s face dropped for a moment. It was so Marco to worry about how Star felt after she had broken his heart. “Well, goodnight.” He was about to close the door in her face, but Star had another idea. She stopped him from closing the door, looked at him in the eyes, she was fully determined to say this.

“Marco, I looooooooooh.” Her voice couldn’t continue past those two letters. Her words just went on, softer and more silent till she closed her mouth. Marco didn’t even catch anything pass his name, and his face reflected this. Star cleared her throat and tried again. “Sorry about that. Marco, I laaaaaah” What was she doing wrong here? Her mind was full of those three words and she still couldn’t say them out loud.

The boy stood there, confused at his friend’s lack of coherence. “Are you ok, Star?” His friend quickly stomped her feet while holding her breath. Her face was fully red and she was pouting at the moment.

“Of course! I’m feeling great Marco, wanna know why?” Star was talking more out of frustration and eagerness. Marco nodded as an answer and she took a step back to pulled out her wand. “I’m great because…” She made a quick ballet spin and proceed to write ‘I love you’ in the air. Once she was done, she smiled with confidence and felt relief, for a moment.

“Star, I can’t read that, or did you meant to do a weird drawing or something?” Star was confused at his sentence. She looked up and saw that she made a big yellow smear on the air. Not even close to letters at all. She could only facepalm and look embarrassed. “I really don’t feel like playing around right now. Goodnight.” Marco was way more confused than annoyed. He closed the door and the curtains, leaving Star angry at her inability to say three simple words. She made her way back to her room, still embarrassed at how big of a fool she made herself look in front of Marco. Before going to bed, however, she sat down in front of her mirror and began practicing her confession. She never made it pass the second word, and finally went to bed frustrated and sad.

In the morning, Star couldn’t take being awoken by the servants, but she had to. She needed to get ready for the day. She left the servants helped her with every aspect of preparing herself, except one that she took pride and happiness to do it herself. She made her own hair like usually, but that wasn’t it, along with her tiara, he donned the flower that Marco gave her on his right side. She had already sworn to herself to wear it every day as long as it bloomed, and right now, it looked just as beautiful as the night Marco gift it to her.

Once that was done, it was breakfast time, which meant awkward times with Marco. She made her way to the table and found Marco talking with her parents in the hallway. He was looking much better right now, but he was wearing the same suit he wore at the waltz and it looked like he was saying his goodbyes to her parents. Those suspicions quickly turned to be true once she saw him pulled out his own scissors and open up a portal. 

Star got scared and ran towards him at full speed. “Wait, Marco! Where are you going?” Star ran up to him as fast as possible, she went into a little panic attack seeing him about to exit. “Don't go away, please.” Star then hugged him. Marco blushed hard at her words. Star's parents decided to leave them alone for the moment.

Marco saw them walk away and began to panic, this was exactly what he wanted to avoid. “Star, I'm not going away forever. There's some problems back at home and I need to attend to them. I'll be back by the end of the week.”

Star looked at him relieved, but still, something didn't sound right. “If there's something wrong on Earth I need to go too, just let me go change and I'll be right with you.”

“No, Star, this is something of a family matter, and it's just some stupid boring Earth stuff. Tell you what, why don't you swing by the girls while I'm out? They must be dying to know what you been doing.”

Star still felt something was wrong, but in the end, she just accepted it. Maybe some distance between them would help the two of them. “What about the road trip?”

“It's still up, it will just have to be next week.” She still looked troubled, it was obvious that she had a lot on her mind, and more obvious what cause it. “Hey, Star, I'm sorry about last night, I really shouldn’t have close the door in your face like that.” He tried to break the hug, she just hugged him harder. As he looked back at her, he noticed the pink carnation on her hair. It was still in full bloom, it made him the happy how she still wears it, and it gave him a happy smile on his face. “Star, please, I won't be busy for long, and I promise everything will turn out fine in the end.”

Star took some relief at his words. She lost sleep last night trying to figure out her feelings for him, maybe she needed to start feeling more instead of thinking. She followed her heart this time. Marco stared helplessly as Star leaned closer and closer to kiss him. For some reason, even thought they had already done it, this time it didn't felt right for him, so he just pushed her away. Maybe not the right decision judging for her face.

She was shocked but quickly understood him. It was painful, but she knew that this was moving too fast for them after what happened last night. He felt sorry, Marco didn't mean to hurt her. “Sorry... I have to go now.” He broke the hug and opened up his portal back home, they didn't say anything to each other, and afterward, Star ended all alone.

Maybe going out with the girls was the right idea right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A disclosure here, I'm not married and never have been. Take that as you will in the context of this story. Next chapter may come sooner than expected.


	16. I'll tell you how I feel, right now!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even I was surprised at how fast these two chapters came together.

Star's Monday morning was a quick one after her meeting with Marco. A quick breakfast with her family, during which she asked them for permission to go back to Earth for the day. They allowed it, but as her foster family was busy with some issues, she was to call every few hours to report her wellbeing. They even allowed her to stay the night with her friends, with the condition that she reported with them if that was going to happen. She waited till after breakfast to get change into her casual outfit to go back to Earth. 

Where to start? Texting was always an option, she hadn't talked with any of her friends for a day already. After a quick text to all the girls to meet her at the mall, they all send in her answers.

Jackie was already on her way to the family get together, Janna was in the middle of community work, but she assured her she could swing by to her house later that day, and Pony Head was on a date with someone.

Only Starfan was home and ready to meet her at the mall. Star was saddened at her lack of friends at the moment and Starfan was more of a happy friend, the one you hang out when you are ready to have a good time. So she may not be the best option for today. But she was out of options at the moment, so she agreed to meet at the food court and made her way there. They quickly met at the right spot.

“Star!” She jumped hug her friend, full of happiness.

“Hey girl, how have you been?” Is not that she didn't love her friend, she just had some doubts about talking with her about her own love issues.

“Oh, Star, I have been one hundred percent fabulous, never since I met you had I felt better. But enough about me, how's the happy couple?” She perked up, ready to hear her answer, excited more like it.

Her expression quickly changed after she saw how sad Star looked at her question. “Actually Starfan, that's why I want to talk with you. I think I messed up things with Marco yesterday.”

That was enough to make Starfan change from cheerful, to serious business. “Are you sure you want to talk about this here? My house is nearby if you want some privacy.” Star was surprised at the amount of no nonsense that she exhibited, maybe this wasn't a bad idea.

She accepted her request, she wasn't feeling like being in public, to be honest. After a quick walk to Starfan house, the house was alone at the moment, they arrived at her room upstairs. “Tell me now, what happened between you and Marco?”

Star thought for a moment, how will she react knowing everything? She tried brushing it away and then began to open up right there, after some minutes and a huge explanation had passed. “And now I'm even more confused about how I feel about him. Marco must hate me right now, I'm sure of it… Why can't we go back to how things were before?”

Starfan had to process everything she just heard. It was a dream come true for her, when she saw her two friends up on that stage, showing their love for each other in front of all those people. Maybe she had to accept that it was too good to be real, but now Star needed her dear friend more than ever.

All those years of date sims and romance novels had to pay up at some point in life. “Star, do something for me. Imagine that I'm Marco and say what you want to say.”

“What, like, practice confessions? Sure we can do that.” They laugh at the corniness of the moment, but Star just followed her advice.

After clearing her throat, she began to speak. “Marco, I lo...” She choked there for a second. “Nah, that's not my style you know, maybe I should just throw it away like. Hey, Marco, nice hoodie you got there, by the way, I lo...” Again, she choked before saying it. She hit herself on the head in frustration. “Ok, what about I say it with a poem?”

Starfan rumbled around her desk and quickly produce a piece of paper. She handed it to Star for her to read. “Try this, it's an old one but still good. Just replace the name at the end with Marco's”

Star cleared her throat and began reading. “I carry a big weight, must say it before it crushes me, Marco I lo...” After the same thing happened once more, she crumbled up the paper and threw it at the trash can out of anger. “Seriously, a haiku? Ok, maybe I just need to chance my tactics.”

A confused look dawned on Starfan's face. “Change your tactics? I don't get it.”

“You know, like, I'm too focused on saying it. Maybe I just need to forget what I'm going to say. That way I can drop it at the end with no problems.” She sat down on the bed to think.

That same confusion hadn't left Starfan's mind, so she just said the first thing that came to mind. “Like, when you're mad at someone, so you just rant and say things without thinking even about them?”

Right now that idea sounded good. She just wouldn't know where to start. “Mmmmm, how would I come around that?”

Starfan gave it a quick thought. “Don't know, just think of something that bothers you about the guy. You get that first, you can come up with the rest.”

She quickly stood up and began walking around the bedroom. Star was going through her head about what really bothered her about Marco. “Hey, Marco, we're going dimension hopping. Grab everything you need so survive the Crimson Dimension.” Her expression suddenly changed to that of annoyance. “What? I was just thinking about showing you the Red Caverns. No, is not dangerous we'll be together.” Now she turned to face the mirror. “You know what? I don't think this is about us getting hurt but about you doubting I can protect us. No, Marco, you're the one speaking nonsense! I have been doing this kind of things all my life, and I get so frustrated every time you underestimate me like that. Do you seriously think I'll ever let you down like that, do you even know how important you're to me? Well, I'll tell you right now, Marco I looooooooooo...”

Her friend started to clap at her performance, it was an amazing one, to say the least, except for that last choke at the end. “Didn't know you had a talent for improvisation Star, and don't worry about the end. I'm sure you would get there when you're ready to say it.”

Star felt almost like crying out at the moment, she didn't even know what she was doing wrong in the first place, so how could she even know how to stop doing it? “I can't say it to an empty space Starfan, how are you so confident that I will be able to say it in front of him someday? Hell, I don't even know if I feel like that for real.”

“I know that you do.” Starfan said it without a doubt nor pause. “Did you notice how I didn't even ask if you love him? I just asked you to practice saying it with me. Star, you didn't even flinch when you started doing it. You want to say it so much because you feel it that much.”

She smiled and blushed after hearing that. It did fill Star with a little confidence, not enough to push her into confessing, but enough to lift her spirits at the time. “Besides, Star, I know Marco still loves you even after all of that. You know, because that flower still blooms.”

The realization that she was still wearing the flower hit her, she laughed about it. It was kinda fast the way she had adapted to it. “I know it's going to sound weird being just two days since he gave it to me. I make sure to use it every day and to always wear it when I go out. Like it's making me happy just to have it with me.”

“Aw, it's like your own wedding ring.” Starfan shot the biggest smile she had towards her friend. Star looked so cute to her right now. She couldn't hold her excitement.

“Yeah, it's kinda like that... I still want a real ring though, remember the rock he gave Hekapoo? Nothing smaller than that.” Both girls let out huge laughs. “I mean, he has till we are both grown up to get another ring, that's more than enough.”

After they finish laughing, there were a few seconds of silence in the room. Starfan had an important question. “You two going through the marriage and all?”

Star remembered how Marco had pushed her away on two occasions already, not only did this made her sulk, but also brought doubt into her mind. “I would, and I know that Marco will accept. That's the problem, I don't want us getting married just 'cause I asked him and he couldn't say no, but because we truly love each other.”

“Yeah, I get it, but, nothing that's worth it is ever easy... Hey, how come the others didn't come by?”

“Oh, Pony Head was busy, and Jackie is on a family vacation. Now that I think about it, shouldn't Janna be out of community service by now?” They both pulled out their phones to check the time, it was already three, so maybe contacting Janna wasn't a bad idea.

“You don't want to call Marco? Maybe he can join us for the night?”

“He had an emergency at home, so right now is more like a girls night.” They went down to the task of contacting their friend to hang out. This may be what Star needed at the moment.

After a quick walk around the neighborhood, the girls found themselves in front of Janna’s house door. After a few rings of the doorbell, their friend welcomed them inside. Just at the sight of her, Star jumped to hug Janna. But something seemed different about her, Janna looked way happier than usual, which took them both by surprise.

Starfan was the first one to talk about it. “Janna, not to sound weird but, are you high?” By now they were already on Janna's bedroom, and this comment made her laugh hard.

“Not at all, I just had some happy days that's all. Anyway, what do you wanted to talk about Star?”

It took a minute for Star to regain her composure, but it was enough for her to give a quick answer. “Janna, I can’t drop the ‘L’ word on Marco. Hell, right know I’m so confused about how I feel about the guy.” Then she shot a sad look towards her friend as to gain some sympathy.

Janna didn't even give it a second thought before she responded. “You mean you weren't sure about how you felt when you choose him last Saturday?”

This made Star feel even more confused than before. “I didn't... look it's better if I explain it to you...”

After some quick resume of what had happened in the last few days, it was clear to Janna what needed to be done, and she was ready for it. “Why don't you stay with Marco anyway? At least till you find another guy to settle with, one that you love for real.”

“No! I want to marry Marco, and I don't want anyone else.” Star sounded so angry right now, something about what Janna implied on her last sentence.

“Well, then, tell him that, is it so difficult to say it? He is just the safe kid. Pretty sure he wouldn't mind you saying it without feeling it.” Yes, she was being mean to the princess, no she wasn't sorry about it. If she wanted to marry him that much, she needed to be sure about those feelings. Even Starfan wasn't sure how Star would react at her words right now, and Janna wasn’t helping at the moment. “Just let him have that true love fantasy for the moment, it will be good practice for when you find the real Mister Butterfly.”

Star stood up and confronted her friend about those awful thoughts she had. It was clear she was furious at the moment. No matter how much she bad mouths her, she will not take Janna talking like that about Marco. “Shut up Janna! Just shut up! You know nothing about how we feel for each other, and for your information. Marco deserves better than that, he doesn't deserve some made up fantasy to live in for some time.” She took a deep breath, she was about to give some serious ranting at the moment. “I know how bad I messed up back there, how much I hurt him, and it's because of it that I now realize how much he means to me. How much I want to tell him that I... ” Star’s mouth shut close at that last sentence.

“That you love him?” Star could only nod in response. “If you have so much trouble saying it, how do you know it's real?”

After a few minutes of silence, she could only scramble a quick response. “Because I'm scared alright!?” Star was crying at this moment, the weight of her words made it harder to come out with it. “I'm scared of all that load that comes from saying it. I'm Star Butterfly, rebel princess that runs away from all her responsibilities, am I ready for that compromise? Just thinking about it makes me shiver. But I'm also scared of losing him. It doesn't help that I broke his heart just yesterday. Who's to say I won't do it again? I'll never forgive myself if I ever hurt him again or if he ends up hating me just because I screw everything up between us.” Star was already out of breath at the end of her rant. The hopelessness of her situation almost crushed her there. Maybe she and Marco weren't meant to be together at all.

It was until her two friends hugged her that she was able to calm down. “Star, please don't cry, I was trying to make you open up to us. I’m sorry I said all those awful things.” Janna sounded so concerned about her at the moment, no more ill intent from her voice.

Starfan had no words, she could only hug her tightly at the moment, still, this helped Star calm down. “It's just, I can't say it, Janna, what if I can never do it and end up losing him because of it.”

Without any of them breaking their group hug, Janna answered. “If you are so sure about how you feel, then tell me, when did you start feeling this way towards him?”

When did she begin to have these feelings? “It wasn't when he gave me the flower at the waltz, not even when we first heard that the waltz was being held… It was when I destroy my own wand just to save him. The thought of losing him was enough for me to sacrifice all my legacy, all my magic, everything that makes me, well myself. I could live without it, but I couldn't live without him by my side.”

“That's sounds so romantic Star.” Starfan was just trying to lighten up the mood.

“Still, I can't say it, and we can never be together if I can't do it.” She hugged her friends back, trying to contain her tears again.

“Star, you may not be sure if you can confess, but I know you would be able to do it. I know you well enough, even though you had only been here for a couple of months, to know that you two are inseparable and that something like fear won't separate you two.” Janna sounded too confident about her words and those words were filling Star with confidence.

It wasn't till Starfan spoke up that everything came falling down. “Hey, how did things turn out between you and Tom?”

Thus it hit Star with all the answers as to why Janna had been so cheerful since they met her just a few minutes ago. So did the reason as to the why of her words, Tom’s brutal honesty may have rubbed a bit onto her. “Janna did you and my ex...” Star squinted her eyes at her. “Hook up?”

She knew how weird it was, she going out with her friend's ex, but Star had to find out sooner or later. “We may have had a moment back on Saint O's, and we may be texting nonstop since then, but nothing official as of yet.”

They all sat down on the floor to hear the full story. “I mean, he seems like a cool guy, and he treated me so good that night, like a true gentleman, but again he is your ex. I was thinking if this was a good decision before we started dating.”

She was ready to get an earful from Star. To her surprise, nothing came out of it, Star just lay down on the floor before answering. “Yeah you should go for it, I mean, I'll never give him a second chance, but he seems to have change for the best.”

Janna had a huge smile on her face, but she resisted from taking her phone and dialing Tom to ask him out right there. “Hey, where's Marco right now anyway, you left him back on Mewni by himself?”

“He told me there was a family emergency, so he left the castle to deal with it, and I'm here to hang out with you girls.” Janna looked confused at that answer.

All their group of friends from Earth was already gathered there, so maybe just taking the rest of the day to hang out wouldn't be a bad idea. That and, maybe having some time away from her problems may give her a new perspective on them.

Star needed to report to her parents already, and ask them is it was ok to spend the night right there at Janna's. That was just a quick call from the magic pocket mirror away, but in between all of this talk and worrying she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, not for herself, but maybe Marco was having some difficult times.

After her parents gave her permission to stay the night, Star spent the rest of the day with her two friends. Just talking about their problems, going out for food and sugary desserts, and sure to her word. Janna made the time to prank people around town, and the girls helped her as best they could.

A few offices rearranged in an extremely uncomfortable manner, some cars covered in sticky notes, and finally, some houses littered in toilet paper. That last part took a huge amount of energy, that and escaping the police in the death of the night would do that to some people.

Back at Janna's place, their host handed them some pillows and blankets for the night, and she even let them borrow some pajamas. They were all ready to sleep, but they were in high spirits, so they couldn't sleep at the moment no matter how tired they felt.

“You aren't scared of getting in trouble Janna?” Star was glad to spend time with her friends, but if this got Janna in trouble, they were best to avoid it.

“Nah, nobody saw us, besides, the community service gets me down big time. I need the pranks to feel alive again.”

“Just wait till you and Tom get together, bet you won’t need pranks for a long time.” Starfan didn't get any chances to tease Janna.

“Oh, shut up Starfan.”

“Maybe Star and I can be your bridesmaids, we could wear beanies with the dresses. Cover the place head to toe with fireproof sheets if Tom gets a little out of control.” Star was cracking up at the scenario, that just so Tom and Janna.

“Laugh it up princess, you're still going to the altar way sooner than any of us.” Star quickly got quiet, like she was taken by surprise by that comment. “Which brings me to the most important question about the topic. Who's going to be the maid of honor?”

Star looked towards Starfan, as waiting to get some support. “She is talking sense Star. From us four, who is going to be?”

“Aaaaaaaaammmm...” Star felt cornered at the moment. “Can't we just wait till we are actually planning for the wedding, you know, six years or so from now?”

They both said in unison. “No way.” Janna followed this with. “We either talk about this or about Marco. And let me tell you, we have a mountain of questions about that topic.”

They were not going to let her escape this interrogation, so she used her last resort, bargaining. “I'll make you a deal. I'll answer questions on both topics, but if I don't like any of them you have to step down. And you accept any answer that I give you, no whining.”

The girls quickly sat near Star, making a small triangle. “Answer our first question then.” Starfan got excited at hearing that answer.

Giving it a quick thought, she didn't need to give them any specifics, she had her choice. “Pony Head.” They both looked hurt at her words. “Jackie would be... weird, you both are awesome but could easy get out of hand. Pony Head is my second best friend, it's the obvious answer.”

They couldn't complain, the only thing they could do is keep asking, and Starfan did just that. “Did you and Marco kissed before last Saturday?”

She answered with a deadpan. “Yes.” Her friends just looked at each other.

“Had you two done the naughty dance?” Star answered Janna's question with a deadpan sounded. “No.” This time she was just smiling at how she managed to turn the tables.

The girls were not amused at her answers, but they still had a way to turn this back on their favor. “What do you think about Hekapoo?” Low blow maybe, but Janna wasn't going to do this dance all night.

“What do you mean? She's cool and all.” Star got uneasy so suddenly.

“Well, she is Marco's ex-fiancée, not girlfriend, fiancée. You heard about the good times they had together, all the good times. Doesn't that make you a bit... jealous?”

“Janna... you're crazy, tell her she's crazy Starfan.” Starfan was grinning just as smugly as Janna right now.

Star apparently had forgotten she could back down at any moment. “I mean, Hekapoo is so cool, and beautiful, and she has a smoking hot body, I had seen it. Yes, any girl would feel intimidated if that's the kind of girl your boyfriend use to date...”

She was quickly interrupted by Janna. “Use to be engaged to.” Star gave her an angry glare before continuing her speech.

“Look, Marco loves me, that's all I need to know. Doesn't matter who he used to date or how hot she is, and we are all going to wrap this up and go to sleep.” Star wasn't looking so calm right now, and it was clear to anyone there.

“Yeah sure, I have community service in the morning so I need to get some shut eye.” With that, they all get back to their own bedrolls and went to sleep.

All of them, except Star. This may not be the best time to go all jealous girlfriend, hell, she wasn't even the guy's girlfriend, but he still had those photos of her. Damn, she never thought all of this will make her lose sleep.

Next morning, these thoughts hadn't disappeared from her head. She even agreed to help Janna with her community service, thinking it may clear her mind. It did not, by lunch time she was full on paranoid. The girls were beginning to feel worried about her.

After they had lunch on Starfan room, they decided to confront Star about her mood. “Star, just tell us what's wrong with you?” Starfan tried to hand her a glass of water to calm her nerves. “Is it what we say last night? You know we were just teasing, just having fun.” Starfan patted her back, as to calm her down.

Star, let out an angry groan. “I'm not even the guy's girlfriend and I'm dying to ask him about Hekapoo.”

“What got you so riled up anyway? Is not that Marco has seen her recently.” The mood was about to turn weird after Star drop this bomb.

“Last week, I discovered that Marco still has some photos of her.” They all went silence after that.

The only one brave enough to talk was Starfan. “Like, photos together doing couple stuff...”

“The other kind. The kind you'll find in a dirty magazine. One of the classy ones that come on their own personalized plastic bag.” It was a specific description, to say the least. “I thought nothing of them back there, but last night you reminded me of them, now I can't stop thinking about it. Does he still have feelings for her?”

There surely wasn't another answer for her problem, at least for Starfan. “Why don't we go ask Marco, his house is just a couple of blocks away?”

“That doesn't sound like a good idea. What's she going to say anyway? 'Marco are you still doing that whore Hekapoo, Hekahoe, as Janna would say'. Not her best course of action. Although, I kinda want to see those pictures.” Janna was beginning to grin at the idea.

“Besides, Marco is busy with some family matters.” Star was quick to point that out. Which gave Starfan an idea.

“So, the only option right now is to go to the source!” Starfan got happy at the idea, but quickly shot it down when she noticed the other girls with shocked expressions.

The temptation, she could feel it in all her psyche. Star pulled up her dimensional scissors and stare at them for a while. “I can't do it, open a portal to her dimension and calling her to talk...” She looked directly at Starfan and got the best idea of the day. “But you can! I do it, I'm just a crazy jealous girl. You do it, you're a concerned friend looking over me.”

Starfan looked at the scissors in front of her, at Star grinning from ear to ear, and then at Janna as if she was looking for some help. “Don't look at me. I do it, I'm a creepy girl that wants to get some naughty details on her friend.”

It took a few minutes of just thinking and weighing the options in front of her. “Let's go out to... let's just go out!” Starfan signaled her two friends to the door.

“What!? You getting cold feet Starfan?” Star was disappointed at the response she received.

But even Janna had to take Starfan's side on this. “Star, you're just angry right now, or I don't know how to describe it. The point is, you're not yourself right now.” 

Starfan was nodding in agreement. “You don't want to make any decisions while you're feeling like this.” She took the scissors and put them inside the drawer on her nightstand. “So let's just forget that I brought the topic up and go catch some fresh air.” Star was somewhat annoyed, but she had to agree with them at some level. She was acting strange, and she was sure this topic will go away just as easy as it came up.

It didn't take long enough for the girls to find something to do. There were no pranks this day, as it was more Star centered, so they decided to go catch a movie, and afterward, just walk around the town. Arriving at the park Star remembered that she hadn't called her parents in a while.

“Hey, I'm gonna go call my parents. Is it ok if I stay with you tonight Starfan?” The girl could only let out a fangirl squee to the air. “I'll take that as a yes, it'll only take a moment.”

Star had to apologize for not talking sooner, but that didn't stop her from asking if she could stay the night with her friend, again. Her mother let her stay the night on Earth, again, but before she hung up. Moon had one last question she had to know. “Have you talk with Marco yet, busy or not, you must have seen it over there.”

Star froze on the spot. “I haven't gotten around that. It's not like I'm avoiding it mom, I just don't want to bother him while he is busy.”

The King threw in his piece of mind. “Nonsense, you're his future wife. The boy got to learn to make time for you!”

His comment only made Star blush and the Queen smile. “I promise I'll have a talk with him dad, goodbye.” On that last note, she hung up. Rushing to her friends, still with a blush on her face, she gave them the good news and to find something else to do.

The three of them just wandered around the park, they met several of their classmates and other friends from school that stayed for the holidays. Star kept them busy most of the time, she felt so happy not having to go to school and still seeing her friends. Janna sometimes got busy texting away on her phone, and Starfan didn't talk with other people besides her two friends, she wasn't that much of a people person anyway. By the end of the day, the girls were again tired by all the walking around. They said goodbye to Janna, she had community work in the morning.

At Starfan's house, she made sure to make Star feel extra comfortable for the night. They both stay up late just talking about anything they could think of, but Starfan made a point to ask more about her idol's adventures around dimensions. 

That was a fun, although, quiet night. Next morning, Star made sure to call home after breakfast, just a quick call to let them know everything was fine. The two girls had breakfast together and just stayed home and play video games, making time for Janna to get out of work. It was around noon that Starfan received a text message from Janna asking them if they were in her house.

After Starfan responded with a yes, Janna sent an alarming. “I'm on my way, I have something big to tell Star.” 

Showing the message to Star, she got excited that maybe Janna was bringing home some awesome news or the like. A few minutes later, Janna almost burst into the house, exhausted at the long run she made to get here.

Starfan saw her huffing and fighting for air, and handed her some water before going upstairs to meet with Star. Upstairs, Janna had recovered enough already to deliver the news.

“You see, I was working at the mall parking lot, picking up trash and the like. When suddenly, I saw Marco's parents walking to their car. I approach them to say hello and ask them how is Marco doing, and you know what they said?” She paused for dramatic effect, and to drink some more water.

“Stop with the pause and just say it!” Star wasn't about to be patience at how serious she sounded right now.

“Ok, ok, I asked them and they answered me that they hadn't seen Marco since Monday. That HE told them he was going to spend all week on Mewni... with you.” Yes, this was surprising for everybody in the room, but nobody got hit with this news harder than Star.

Quickly, Star pulled up her pocket mirror and began dialing home. It took only a few rings for her mother to pick up. “Hey, mom, just doing my checkup. By the way, is Marco there with you?”

Queen Moon looked confused at Star's sudden question and more than weird attitude. “Well, Star, thank you for calling, and no, Marco is not here. Why the interest? I thought that he was on Earth?”

“Oh, it's just that...” Quick, think of a lie. “... I was thinking about paying him a visit. I was just making sure that he will be there.” She laughed it away before saying goodbye and hanging up.

The room went silent. More than puzzled, they were worried about their friend going missing. Not even his parents knew where he was, where could they begin to look for him? “Janna, you been talking with Tom these last days, right?” Janna nodded and showed her phone to the girls. “Call Tom, in fact, put him on speaker. Ask him if he has seen Marco.” Missing no time, she called the demon right there.

“Just a heads up, I haven't actually dial the guy, so please Star. If you could let me lead in here...” Before she could finish Tom pick up the call.

“Yo, Jan, how's it hanging there?”

Her friends gave Janna a confused look. “Hey Tommy boy, listen I've been thinking about visiting that club you spoke up this weekend.”

“Oh cool! You're gonna love it Janna, great atmosphere, and good drinks. It'll be a fun night.” Star was getting impatience and annoyed at the flirting going on right now.

Janna took a notice at her annoyed face. “Yes, it'll be lovely I'm sure. Hey listen, Star stayed with me last night and she told me she wanted to speak with Marco about some serious stuff.”

“Think the happy couple is having some issues? You'll think they tell each other everything, but I guess every couple has their secrets.” Starfan was quick to try and calm Star down, hoping she didn't blow up on him right there.

“Problems in Paradise I think. But, can you tell me if Marco's with you right now? Maybe we can get set up a meeting between those two.” Tom was unresponsive for a moment. “Yo, hot stuff, you still there?”

“Yeah, still here Jan. I was just thinking if the guy contacted me since last Saturday, can't say he did, to be honest.” Star didn't buy it for a second, she signaled Janna to keep pressing for answers.

“Listen, Tom, I talked with Marco's parents earlier. They told me they hadn't seen him since Monday, and Star hasn't seen him either.” She couldn't hide how worried she sounded right now.

Just trying to stall for time, Tom said the first thing that came to mind. “So, Star knows about this? Have you told her?” Star couldn't take it anymore and speak up directly to the microphone.

“Yes, I know Tom! Now, you're going to stop lying and tell us what you know, or I swear, I'll reach out from the phone and strangle you till you spit it out.” 

Tom was silent for a second before answering. “If you're choking me, how would I be able to answer you?”

Starfan had to drag the girl away in order to keep her away from the phone. Janna quickly came back to speak with Tom. “Sorry about that, but you gotta understand. Those two care for one another so much. I'm also worried about the guy you know.”

“Janna, I'm sorry about all of this, but I swear to you...” That pause didn't give her much confidence. “I don't know where Marco is… right now… sorry.” He too sounded worried about his friend.

“Anything that you might remember Tom, at least to calm Star down.” Almost begging him to say anything right now.

The line went silent for a few seconds. “Why don't you try asking Hekapoo. A long shot sure, but she is the only other friend he has outside that dimension.”

“That's an excellent idea, Tom! Thanks for the help.” Even if that was the obvious second person they'll talk to, she felt happy that Tom was at least willing to help them.

“Yeah, no worries, just tell me if you find the guy.” They said their goodbyes and hung up. Janna had a hysterical magical princess to tend to.

All of them heard the conversation, especially Star. Immediately, her mind began racing with all kind of thoughts about Marco and Hekapoo. What could they be doing? if they go check it out, what will they find? How could he just run away with her?

“Star, we don't even know if she has seen him. Let's just pay her a little visit and ask her some questions.” This wasn't a good time for Janna to get all optimistic. 

“Not a good idea.” Starfan got some interesting glares from her friends, to say the least. “I'm not saying we shouldn't go and ask her, but that STAR shouldn’t go with us.” Star got hurt at that comment. “Last thing we want to happen is you snapping at her just like you did Tom.”

Janna had to agree there for a moment, but then again. “Yes, but Star deserves to know if there's something fishy going on there.”

Star hugged Janna for supporting her. “Besides, I promise you I'll be the chilliest gal there. Ice cold that's what I'm talking about.” She began to jump up and down, hoping that Starfan helped her.

“If you promise Star, I'll give you the scissors.” Starfan did as she said and took out the scissors from her drawer, giving them to Star.

As soon as the scissors were on her hands. Star opened a portal to Hekapoo's swamps, the three girls arrived just outside her house. The girls approached the door and gave it a loud couple of knocks. Star was constantly saying to herself. “Just a quick visit to check if Marco's here, and if not, just ask if she had seen him, easy. Just a quick visit, nothing to worry about, Marco is probably not even here.” It was at this moment that Hekapoo opened the door to receive them.

“Oh! It's Marco's friends. How are you, girls, and princess?” They froze right there, not being able to say anything back. The cause of that shock was that Hekapoo was wearing Marco's red hoodie, mind you, she had her usual dress underneath. Not that it mattered to Star at the moment.

Star quickly lunge herself at the girl in front of her in a fit of rage. “YOU BOYFRIEND STEALING HEKAHOE!!!” The two of then rolled up inside the house, with Hekapoo struggling to get Star away from her.

“WHERE'S MARCO?! WHY DO YOU HAVE HIS HOODIE?! WHY HAVEN'T I USED THE WAND YET?!!!” Star brandished her magic wand, which began to give a green glow in her hands, the same glow she had on her heart marks. Hekapoo managed to toss Star from on top of her and regain her footing enough to avoid the next magic blast.

“Listen, princess...” She was so focused on talking things down that she got hit by one of Star’s green blasts. “I don't want to hurt you, princess...” And it happened again, perhaps this wasn't going to be solved with words. Hekapoo manifested several clones of herself, which quickly surrounded Star, giving her more targets to aim at. All of those clones, plus her portals, gave Hekapoo the speed advantage. Still, she focused herself on punches and kicks, no need to bring the scissors on this fight.

Star was so overwhelmed at all the attacks coming from all the possible directions. But this was Star here, she quickly came up with a shockwave of magic energy that threw the clones away from her, giving her some time to think. “YOU WON'T TAKE MY MARCO!” Or scream some more angry remarks.

She was taking way more damage than Hekapoo thought possible, this was one strong princess she said to herself. She still had the speed advantage, and Star was just tiring herself. It looked like the fight was going to be over quickly, but suddenly, another blast was thrown her way, and again, she quickly dodged it by entering another portal.

Just that this wasn't like the others, this blast followed her wherever she popped back into this dimension, and as the seconds passed it became faster. She called in the clones, but the blast just divided itself and each new attack followed one of them.

Quickly, each clone she made began to get hit by the magic blast and disappeared. This left her alone to deal with it. Hekapoo would have preferred to avoid the damage altogether, but it seemed that parrying it was the only option right now. With a swift movement of her arm at exactly the right moment, the blast was no more, but still, some force of the impact made it throughout making her fall down on her knees.

Hekapoo soon realized that Star was just beside her at this moment, pointing her wand right down at her ready to shoot her at point blank. What she also noticed, was that Star seemed short of breath, like she was having difficulties breathing in.

Janna and Starfan rushed from the front door to try and calm their friend down. Star had gotten worse right now, she not only drop her wand but was getting blue on the face for the lack of air. “Star, you have to calm down and breath in.”

Janna moved Starfan out of the way. “It's not her temper, something else is choking her.” She quickly glared at Hekapoo with rage in her eyes. “What did you do to her!”

Hekapoo looked shocked at the situation at hand, for a short moment at least. She rushed to Star's side and began to check for injuries, maybe she hit her throat during the fight. “Ok listen, She doesn't have any injuries, so I'm going to need to give her mouth to mouth. Just stay back, give me some space.”

She began the resuscitation process on Star, even thought she was from another dimension. Hekapoo knew right away what she was doing, but after a few minutes of going at it, there was no sign of Star breathing by herself, and she was moving way less by the second.

On Star's mind, she wasn't feeling pain anymore, she wasn't feeling much of anything actually, as if her mind had left her body, like floating in water. Everything was black for a moment, and suddenly she was staring right at Marco, or more like, he was staring at her. Marco was looking down at her from a layer of water like she was submerged inside a bathtub. But she could also see a clear sky behind Marco.

The image quickly change, and Marco was now the one flat inside the water, but that didn't matter to Star. What horrified her of this image was that from her perspective she was holding him down in the water, preventing him from going out. She was drowning him.

Again, the scenario changed, this time, Marco was packing camp and Nachos was with him. She could notice it right now, Marco wasn't on Earth, the forest he was looked like the forests from Mewni, she was sure of it. After another fade to black, she could now hear her friends talking, it was time to wake up. Star open up her eyes, she was back on Starfan's room, and Hekapoo was with them, no longer wearing his hoodie.

Her friends launch at Star to hug her, they had been so worried when she was choking, and the wait, while she was passed out, was painful, to say the least. They just hugged her tightly like she was going to run away if they let her go.

“Well, she's fine, I'm going to go before she goes all crazy on me again.” Hekapoo was ready to go back before anything else happened, but suddenly.

“No, wait!” Star got up and grabbed Hekapoo's hand trying to stop her. “I'm sorry about losing control back there, but you got to help me find Marco.” Hekapoo got a surprise look on her face and turn around to meet her. “I just saw him Hekapoo! I don't know how to describe it, but I had some visions of him, I think he is in trouble.”

That hit the spot for Hekapoo, it looked like she was also worried about the boy herself, and Star didn't look like the lying type either. She already knew the kind of powerful magic energy the princess was carrying, having visions of one close to her heart wasn't that far fetched.

“Tell me, what did you saw?” She sat down on the floor, Star and the rest of the girls following her.

Star told them everything she saw in her visions, even the more disturbing details. They could all conclude that she wasn't lying about anything, that fact only worried the rest of the girl even more. “And that's why I know he must have talked to you, he had Nachos on my vision. Please Hekapoo, tell me what you know.”

She had to resign herself and spill the beans. “He did come talk to me, he said he needed some time alone after getting his heart broken.” That comment made Star feel guilty if Marco is out there getting hurt she now knew it was her fault. “So he took Nachos and his sword out to hunt down some bad guys on Mewni. He also told me that if he isn't back by the weekend to go look for him.”

Star quickly stood up. “Ok girls, we're going to Mewni, pack your things.” The girls stood up and agree that they needed to find Marco and quick. As she was about to open up a portal to Mewni, she was confronted by Hekapoo

“Listen, all of you, the boy doesn't want to be with Star, he already made that clear, and he already has me to look for him if things turn sour. Don't go around risking yourselves with no reason.”

“Hekapoo, I already apologize for snapping at you before. But if you don't shut your mouth right now, we're going to have to pick up where we left.” She stood up determined in front of Hekapoo, not giving her the chance to say anything. “Look, I hurt him, and I understand that, but that doesn't give him the right to go throw his life away without thinking about his family, friends, or me.”

Hekapoo had to snap back at her. “Not thinking of you? You're the only one he thinks about, he is going to marry you just so you have a chance to a happy life. Tell me, do you want him back because you love him, or because you love what he does for you?” It surprised the girls a bit how much Hekapoo knew about Star’s situation.

“You know nothing about how I feel. I looooooo...” Star was paralyzed at her inability to said the words, again, she felt so guilty.

“C'mon princess, you can't even say it. Just stay here with your friends, I'll go look for Marco on my own.” Star already felt like the worst person in Marco's life, not only couldn't she be honest about her feelings. She had hurt him in the worst way possible and now pushed him away so far that he was risking his life like it was nothing.

The only thing she could do right now is going looking for him, but for that, she needed to know if her feelings were real. Otherwise, she would just continue hurting Marco, no matter how well-meaning her intentions may be. 

Star could only think of one thing to do, go deep down. Her magic and emotions tied together, so maybe, just maybe, going deep down was the way for her feelings to surface. Star had to concentrate for a moment, she didn't need to go all shining eyes and magic aura, she just needed to get in that controlled mind space to think clearly.

As if time had stopped still, Star could only think about all the times she had spent with Marco. The day they met, their first fight against monsters, how they started their own friendship Thursday, all those little moments that made her so happy just to know him. Quickly, she went back to the rocky moments of their friendship, the fight previous at his kidnapping by Toffe, how she gave him a monster arm, and just how hard she had made his life. But she knew the hard moments in life are necessary if you're to enjoy the best parts even more.

Lastly, her mind wandered to last Saturday, when Marco confessed his love to her face. The honesty in his voice and how special it made her feel. She wanted Marco to feel like that, to share her feelings for him so both could feel loved, together. But she couldn’t fake them, having Marco’s love makes her happy, yes, but she needed to be sure that she loves him not just his feelings for her. Flashing back to that day were her wand blew up, the fear she felt at losing him and how she was ready to continue with him even after losing her magic, she found out her true feeling. She did love Marco more than anything in the world. Nothing else mattered for her at the moment more than finding Marco, and finally confessing her feelings.

When she opened her eyes, she noticed how the room was filled with a bright pink light coming from her heart marks, she felt warm on the inside and happy just being alive.

Star said the one thing she had been struggling so hard to say, the one sentence she wished she had the courage to say last time Marco was with her. “I love Marco...” Just saying those words made her cry in happiness. “... I love how much of a safe kid he is, I love that cute mole on his face, the way he wears those same hoodies every day. I love every dish he cooks for me, how much of a dork he is for kung fu movies.” She turned around to meet her friends, which were standing there just watching her spill out her feelings. “Girls, I love Marco! Can you hear me say it? I love Marco with all my heart!”

Star was so happy right now that she hugged both of them, and quickly drag them closer to Hekapoo so she could also hug her. “I love how nervous he gets about the little things. I love how he always worry about everybody in his life.” She took the time to breathe in before continuing, and she was still rolling around while hugging the three girls. “I love how happy we make each other feel, how we are always there for the other. I love how inseparable we are and the way he kisses me.”

She was finally able to find her true feelings and couldn't stop letting them flow. “And we are going to get married, and become the future King and Queen of Mewni, and we'll have, like, a dozen children, which will all have his eyes, and be the most beautiful children in history.” But maybe she could learn some restraint, she was going full Starfan at the moment.

In fact, only Hekapoo was able to snap her back to reality. “Sure princess, but remember, he won't be able to do any of that if he's dead. So I take it you won’t stay here and wait for me to bring him back?” It was either the two of them find him together, or Star goes on her own without any help.

“Not a chance! But, Starfan and Janna, you stay here in case he decides to come back early.” The girls just nodded in agreement, they were still trapped in Star's embrace after all.

“Not so fast princess, you were out for a few hours, I say you need to rest for the night. We can go find Marco in the morning.”

Star was ready to fight that decision. “Hekapoo, the more time we lose here, the harder it will be to find him. We need to go now.” She left all the girls down at let them go of her grip.

Hekapoo grabbed Star by her shoulders and sat her down. “You won't be of any help injured, you need to trust me. I have a way to track him down with no issues.” Star open her mouth to protest again, but she quickly intervened. “That and, you used a ton of energy on our fight, so no matter what you say, you need the rest.”

She felt defeated right now, but Hekapoo was right, she wouldn't be of any help if she wasn't to her full strength. Hekapoo agreed to swing by after sunrise to pick her up, and the girls all sleep on Starfan's house again. By the next morning, Star was ready to find Marco. Hekapoo kept her promise and pick Star up just after sunrise.

Some goodbyes to her friends later, Star and Hekapoo exited the dimension through a portal, now finding themselves on Mewni, just on the borders of the countryside. This sight quickly worried Star. “Wait, Marco has been gone for three days now. What if we lost his trail?”

Hekapoo wasn't worried, she had an ace for this situation. She quickly held her hands together and began channeling energy. “Don't worry princess, your boyfriend is wearing the diamond ring he gave me. A quick location spell and I have his exact location, I get his location, and I can portal us right next to him.” Star jumped a bit at her words, just hearing Hekapoo call Marco her boyfriend made her red on the face.

Taking her time to gather energy and making the proper hand gestures for the spell, Hekapoo quickly had a halo of magic energy on her head. She closed her eyes to focus on the ring. She was soon shocked at feeling nothing or to be more specific, she felt everything. The spell was supposed to point her in the right direction, and right now, she was being pulled in all directions at the same time. If the spell were a compass, it will be spinning without stopping right now.

“Dammit, what could be messing...” She found her answer as she looked at Star, with her hearts marks bright red, just a bit dimmer than the night before. “It's you! You're expelling magic energy right now and messing with my spell.”

Star looked confused, she clearly didn't know what she was talking about. Hekapoo conjure a mirror just so she could see her face. “Well sorry, but I can't stop it, and to be honest, I don't want to.” Hekapoo tried not to snap at the princess.

“You need only to keep your emotions down for a minute or two, cmon is not that hard.” Star look dejected, so she tried holding in her feelings to no avail. She may not be showing it right now, but she was happier than ever just having been able to say 'I love you'. She was dying to say it to Marco in person.

Trying again and failing, Star looked dejected, not that this made her any less happy. “Goddammit princess! Did you really needed to figure out your feelings right now?”

“Excuse me, but some people have a hard time with compromise. We can't just decide to marry someone we know for less than eight minutes.”

“Hey! We were at least honest with our feelings, and we never hide anything from each other, just so you know.”

Star crossed her arms and said without raising her voice. “Yeah, you hide nothing from the world judging by those pictures.” That comment made Hekapoo blush hard, she knew what she meant by that.

“How did you... Oh! I bet you went through his stuff. That must be the why of your sudden visit, you find those pictures and went crazy with jealousy. You know, just because you have all that magic power, doesn't mean you still don't have a lot of growing up to do.” Star was furious at her words.

“You think you're better than me just because you can gather some energy and make some pretty hand movements. Everybody can do that, hell, I can do it just as good.” Star imitated all the movements for the same ritual, just the same as Hekapoo did it before. “And then you focused on that ring. I already know it, little piece of...” Suddenly, Star got hit with a sensation coming from her right side, it was telling her that the ring she was pictured in her mind was west from their position.

“Wow, Star, did you just find Marco?” She was looking with a surprise expression. Star just used her bond with Marco to find him, why did she never thought of that?

“I think I do... west from here... now what?” The look of confusion on her face was a clear indication that this was still unfamiliar to her. Doing magic without her wand was a strange sensation that she needed to master.

“Now, you take your scissors and take us there, just focus on that feeling and we'll find him.”

Star looked at the scissors in her hand before closing her eyes, she pictured that ring and the exact position it was coming from. Opening a portal there was an easy step, the problem was once they cross it. They saw no Marco nor Nachos around them.

“Looks like the spell told you more the general location of the ring, no problem, at least we are closer to him now, maybe.” While Hekapoo pondered on their next step, Star saw at the distance what it looked like, a strange formation of rocks.

The portal left them in the middle of a beach just beside a mountain side, and at the distance, just where the mountain met the ocean and the beach ended, there she saw what she thought was a castle made of carved stone. “Over there, maybe Marco went in there for refuge.” 

Hekapoo noticed quickly the entrance on the mountain side. “Well, I do feel magic force coming from that direction, let's go check it out.”

They couldn't get down to it, as soon as they decided on their next step. A huge green explosion had blown that whole part of the mountain, launching several rocks and rubble into the air. The shockwave was so strong that it even knock both of the girls down.

They stared at what used to be the mountain side, first surprised, then in confusion, before settling on terror when they realize Marco was more than probably in there. The two of them ran at the now smoking crater, hoping so find prove that Marco wasn't even near there when that explosion happened.

That sound of a motorcycle engine at the distance wasn't inspiring much confidence, to be honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always knew this was the direction of the story. Star not knowing her true feelings has been coming a long way since the beginning. Maybe I could have tackle it better, but again, it's my first fanfic.


	17. Marco's Quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news! Thanks for my poor planning skills, it's going to be THREE more chapters (counting this one).

All the way back to Sunday, just after Marco had his talk with King River and while Star was in the library with Queen Moon.

On Marco's room there were no tears, but cold calculations. Marco heard everything the King said before. They forced Star to have an arranged marriage all because she lost the spell book and Glossarick. It stood only to reason that getting everything back will make the marriage useless.

He needed time, first of all, not agreeing to break the engagement will give him some, he also knew that Star may disagree so he wasn't getting a lot of it. He needed to find the book before the end of the week, that meant, he needed to go questing tomorrow morning. Make an excuse with Star's parents, and his own, and hope they never talk with each other while he was away.

Afterward, he needed equipment for the quest, a map of the kingdom would be easy to come by, he already knew where the library was. Hekapoo had his sword and Nachos to make the ride quicker, and back home he needed to gather some supplies for the ride.

What troubled him even more, was that he knew nothing of the area. He didn't even have a clue about where Ludo may be hiding, how strong his forces will be, or even how to recover the book. Maybe a plan B wouldn't hurt, he couldn't just vanish without telling someone if something bad happens he was going to need some rescue. Worst case scenario, somebody to tell his family what happened to him. Tom and Hekapoo, best to have two plan B's than only one, and those two were some of the best fighters he knew.

He had his plan, his equipment, and a quest. What drives him right now may be his hurt feelings, but he would like to think his love for Star had some part in it too. Sure, right now he wasn't thinking that much about the dangers he may face, and that was troubling him way less than it should.

Had he come to this realization before, he should have ridden to confront Ludo. He had to admit though, all of this drove him closer to Star than ever, closer than the two of them would ever be without dating. Damn, he was so close, if he could only learn to shut his mouth, he wouldn’t have lost his only chance to be with the love of his life. But there was no denying his feelings, he could not change them and neither does she, the only thing he could do now was saving her from another loveless marriage. Before any of that though, he needed that book, if he survives the quest, he could start living with the pain, one step at a time.

He wasn't feeling tired right now, so he decided to spend some time in the library, at least he could find some information of the area for tomorrow. He moved quickly and silently, he had enough family time with the King for the night. After he arrived, he quickly noticed how big the place was, he had been here before but never really took a look at the room itself. He couldn't expect to get the information he needed and some shut eye the same night, that was until someone called him out.

“Marco boy, what are you doing here this late?” It was the Queen, maybe she was there for some late night research too.

He knew to stay calm, he showed the wrong emotion, said the wrong words, he knew he was going to get caught. “Couldn't sleep, so I decided to wander into the most interesting part of the castle.”

She smiled for a moment. “Anything in specific you wanted to look at?”

He needed to cover up his true intentions. “I was thinking how little I know about Star. I know her, yes, but I know nothing about her home and family. We even fight monsters all the time, but I don't even know where they came from.”

Moon thought for a moment, she never played teacher before so she didn't know where to start. “Well, the family story can wait for another day, such a long violent one. Maybe some tales of heroes would be nice.” It was late, and she knew how Marco may be feeling right now, so a nice simple talk could be best for him. She walked around one of the stands filled with books, she took one at arm’s reach and open it up on the table. “Mewni has had some courageous heroes throughout the ages. The Great Blacksmith, which protected the kingdom by himself while the whole army was away fighting.” Moon show Marco the images in the book, rolling the pages and seeing if anything caught his attention. “Queen Daybreak, she was always on the front lines and never received a single wound.” Again, no reaction from the boy. “The Tamer of Horses... actually, let’s leave that one for some other day.” That one may relate too much to Marco right now. Moon quickly noticed that this wasn’t what Marco was looking for.

“Why don’t you tell me what you want? There’s a lot of information in here.” She knew River had already talked with him earlier, so she didn’t want to push him to open up, yet, she still wanted to have a talk with him.

Looking around and thinking about his answer. Marco had finally come up with the right question. “I wanted to know more about the land itself. Where the kingdoms ended and where others began.” This may have sounded less incriminating on his mind. “It’s just… Star always brings me to different dimensions, but I have never seen this dimension in detail.” Let’s hope Queen Moon buys it.

Thinking about it for a second. Queen Moon walked towards a section of the library containing more scrolls than books. She rumbled around some of the shelves before picking up one in specific. “Here, a map of the kingdom. We gave you a tour of the main town, but here you can see the corn fields, these little harbors towns, and some of the, let's called them, tourist locations. The wilderness wonders, the places of magic power, and some of the old temples are also in there.”

Something about what she said and the points in the map didn’t sound right for him. “Temples? Didn't know you had religion in here.”

“We have, but those are not ours, we have cathedrals for the praying. Those temples are ancient monster temples, almost all run down, but some scholars still visit from time to time.” Marco sounded a lot like Star from Moon’s perspective. Always wanting to learn about new places. She knew that Marco wasn’t feeling right at the moment, hence why he was asking for this so late at night. He might as well be asking for help avoiding thinking about the issue at hand.

Marco took a mental note of which scroll she took, and where it was placed beforehand. “Sounds like interesting places. Star told you about the road trip my family was planning, right? Maybe we could do one here on Mewni, it will be even more exciting at least.”

The Queen smiled at him, if the land wasn't such a dangerous place, it would be a lovely idea. But the mention of his parents brought a sudden realization. “We haven't said anything to your parents! They must be worried about you.”

Yes, the night couldn't get any better for his plans. “Actually, I called them just before dinner, and I just remember something important. They told me that come issues had come up back home, so I have to get back tomorrow morning. I just forgot to say it because of… you know.”

She gave him an understanding look. “Don't worry, Marco, you can take all the time you need, just, please tell Star before you go.”

Marco got quiet at that request, he wanted to avoid talking with her before he needed to go, but he couldn't take being discovered. “Sure, I don't know how long it will take to sort things out, but I'll be sure to make it fast.”

He stayed there for a couple more minutes. Talking with the Queen about history and old tales of the kingdom. Not long after, he excused himself to go to sleep but was stop by the Queen at the door. “Marco, I just wanted to say, I hope you and Star can patch things up. I really do.” It took him by surprise. Of course, they would, he had no doubt, but for some reason he didn't feel like answering, he just gave her a smile and excuse himself. He stayed hidden in the hallway until Queen Moon made her way to her own bedroom. Then, when nobody was nearby to see him, he snatched the map from the library and made his, quiet, way back to his room.

Marco had managed to smuggle the scroll into his room. Right now, he was trying to read it, find a way to understand it before he really needed it. Suddenly, he heard someone landing on the other side of his balcony door. He threw the scroll aside and positioned himself by the side of the door, just trying to avoid detection. He should have known it was Star, to begin with. He met her by the door, trying to stop her from entering and seeing the map he just stole.

It was a quick talk. Marco knew she was trying to apologize for what happened earlier. Yeah, he knew she would have to figure out what happened back there. In all honesty, he didn’t blame Star, he probably was the best option in an ocean of horrible options, or at least, that’s how he sees it right now. It must have sounded right for her at the moment, she gets somebody that truly loves her and he gets to spend the rest of his life with her. That sounded like a win-win situation, but Marco knew better than that. Maybe he was expecting too much out of Star, to begin with, maybe he had to accept the fact that this was all futile from the beginning.

After she had gone away, Marco closed up the curtains and sat down in front of the balcony door. He focused all his attention on the map in front of him. Realization struck him as he remembered his scissors, he could just open a quick portal into his closet a toss it there. With that out of the way, it was just a matter of getting enough sleep. Tomorrow he needed to speak with his parents, and lie to them about where he was going to be the next few days. That, and avoid Star till he got away from this dimension.

The main reason he wanted to avoid Star was that he was aware of that little possibility of... never coming back, and how did you tell that to someone? Especially to someone, you love, so maybe, just avoid Star tomorrow seemed like the easiest thing in the world if they weren't living under the same roof, at two different places.

Next morning, Marco jumped out of his bed as soon as the first servant call him up, he had to get ready and change to the same suit he wore for the waltz, as he walked out of his room, and called for the guards.

“Hey, guys, are the King and Queen around?”

They just looked at each other before one of them answered. “By this hour, all the family must be getting ready for breakfast, you can catch them on the table in a few minutes.”

Maybe he could catch the King and Queen on their way to breakfast, but he had to be careful not to bump into Star on his way there. “Thanks, guys, keep up the good work.”

He gave the guards a thumbs up, they just wave back. Marco made his way to the hallway leading to the dining room. He waited a few minutes and the two of them appear around the corner. “Hey, good morning guys, just wanted to say goodbye before going.”

“Take care boy, hope everything works out for you.” River hugged Marco with great strength. Moon just put a supportive hand on his shoulder. “And don't worry about Star, maybe she can spend some time with her friends on Earth.”

Just then, the one thing he wanted to avoid happened. Star found him just as he was about to exit. Good thing she bought the same lie he told her parents, and good thing he managed to convince her not to follow him. Then, he noticed the flower he had given her. It filled him with hope that maybe… No, she wears it because the marriage is still going. Nothing else. Still, it gave him the determination to follow with his plan. Seeing that flower, and how it still blooms reminded him why he was going to do all of this.

Marco exited the dimensional portal into his kitchen, it was still Monday morning so he wasn't impressed to see his parents having breakfast. Both of his parents were full of happiness at seeing their son. They both hugged him immediately. “Marco! So good that you finally came back, we were so worried about you and Star.”

“Yeah, sorry for not reporting yesterday, it was a very... messy Sunday. And that's why I'm here right now actually.”

They both let him go so he could speak freely. “There are some... problems with Star back on Mewni, and she needs my help to sort them out. It will take me the rest of the week… If you guys don't want me to go, I'll understand.”

Marco's parents looked at each other, they seemed to understand what he may be hiding. Unbeknownst to Marco, his friends visited them yesterday to tell them what happened on the waltz. The girls told them how Star choose Marco as her future husband so they figure out why their son didn't come back that night, still, a heads up from him would have been appreciated.

His Mom was the first to speak up. “Don't worry sweetie, you can't leave Star alone when she needs you. Just promise us to be safe, and that you will call as soon as you are free.”

“I will mom, and don't worry about the road trip. I'm sure we can push it to next week, right?”

His dad nodded in agreement. “Sure, we already promised it to you kids. So, you can stay for breakfast or you have to get back already?”

“I'm in no hurry, let’s have breakfast, besides, I also need to pack some clothes. They did let me borrow some, but it's just not the same.”

The family sat down to eat. Marco's parents didn't mention anything about the engagement, they thought they will talk when ready. They didn't disapprove the union, they were extremely surprised by it sure, but it may them so happy that the two of them finally wrap up their feelings for each other. The topic could wait for another day though.

After breakfast, Marco excused himself so he could get packing. Upstairs, the first thing he did was get change, that suit was not fit for questing, but he put on his normal clothes and red hoodie first as he was going to meet his parent to say goodbye and didn’t want them to see him on his renegade clothes. He packed up his change of clothes on his rucksack, he could always change to those clothes later on. Then came the basic necessities for his trip, three changes of underwear, and an extra one just to be sure.

He picked up the first aid kit he had under the bathroom sink, the water canteen, and a box of matches, he even packed up the tent and flashlight, being the safe kid may get a bit out of hand, but being able to procure all of this in such a short notice was a big plus. After fitting everything on his rucksack, he realized he may need to pack some food. He couldn't pick something from the kitchen, but going to the store may be too much of a hassle right now. Hunting and gathering got to satisfy him on the wild. Another essential was the map he borrowed from the library, he could do without the two big scrolls on both sides so he cut it down for easier packing, and there wasn't enough time to return the rest back to the library as to not raise suspicion.

What wasn't a waste of time was getting into Star's bedroom and packing a pouch bag full of gold coins from the pirate treasure lying around, and maybe hide some coins on his luggage and shoes. He then picked up the dragon scale shield, better to have it and don’t need it, than to need it and don’t have it. All of that and arranging his first plan B. He approached the magic mirror. “Call Tom”

Just a few seconds and the call was answered. “Hey, man, how's the married life?”

Marco wasn't amused at the joke. “Shut up man, and then un-shut up to tell me. How were the girls after we left?”

“They were fine, we hit it right on with the princesses at Saint O's, and Pony Head got them home by the end of the night, nothing out of the ordinary.”

He smiled at Tom's words. “Good to hear, sorry if we bailed on you. Tom I'm going to ask you for a huge favor. No matter what happens, you can't tell anyone about it, not even Star.” He gave him a serious look, he wasn't lying at all.

Tom picked up on his tone. “You been engaged for two days and you are already hiding secrets from her, just tell me what you need.”

He needed to tell him enough for him to come help him if needed, but not too much in case he ratted him out to Star. “I'm going questing on Mewni right now, big stuff, so, if I'm not back here by Friday, look for me.”

Tom got surprised at his words, either he heard him wrong or this was a joke, and Marco's expression wasn't holding laughter back so he was serious. “Ok, man, tell me first of all, how am I to find you if the date passes? And if this is so serious, wouldn't you want me to contact Star to go get you?”

Marco didn't think about the first question, to be honest, but the second point was out of the table. “You will not be the only one looking for me, I'll arrange for Hekapoo to help you. You can only tell any of this to Star if things turn for the worse, promise it.”

This surprise Tom to the bone. “You really want to involve Hekapoo? Well, she is tough and finding you will be easier. Just tell me what's so important that you need to go alone.”

He thought for a moment if Tom really needed to know any more specifics, he decided against it. It seemed losing the magic book was more of a family problem best to be kept in private. “Look, can I count on you or not?”

Tom decided not to push anymore and just accept that his friend had his share of secrets. “Sure man, just don't go dying out there.”

“Don't worry Tom, I can take care of myself...” Dying may be a long possibility, but a possibility nonetheless. “... Hey, Tom, you are a good friend, thanks for the backup.”

“Thanks, Marco, you are a cool dude too, I guess.” Tom was puzzled about his comment, Marco was a sensitive boy but this was weird even for him.

The call ended right there, now it was just a matter of saying goodbye to his parents. Downstairs he cathed the two of them cleaning the dishes. He approached them with a smile on his face and rucksack over his shoulder. “Well, I'm all set up, see you on the weekend.”

Marco hug them both together. They notice that he was pressing tighter on that hug, like not wanting to let go, but that was just for a moment before he got away. “Sweetie, just be alright, we love you.”

He answered his mother words before opening another portal. “I love you too guys, take care.”

He made a quick exit through the portal, but not towards Mewni, but to the inside of Hekapoo's hut. There, he found her, working on the forge. “Hey, Marco, so good to see you!” She hugged him with all her strength. “What's up with the backpack, you moving here or something?”

This caused him to smile a bit. “Not at all, but I do have a favor to ask.” The broke the hug and Hekapoo invited him to sit on the sofa. 

“I'm going to go away for a few days. I'll be questing on Mewni, and if I don't come back by the next weekend on Earth, please contact Prince Tom from the underworld and find me.” Again, he delivered his statement with an almost cold tone on his voice, Heckappo didn't know how to react to this request. “Oh, and I'm going to need Nachos for this, where is she anyway?”

She was still confused at his previous statement so it took her some time to answer. “She's outside taking a walk, but, Marco, tell me what's going on. Why are you doing all of this?”

The worried look on her eyes almost melted his heart, almost, she still didn't need to know all of the details. “I'm going to track down a fugitive monster, he stole something of mine, something important. Hekapoo, I know this may be dangerous, why do you think I'm asking you to bail me out if something happens?” The confused and worried look on her face still didn't fade, not for an instant. “One more thing, you can't tell anyone else where I'm going to be, not even Star Butterfly, you have to promise me that.”

She had enough of his secrets. “No, Marco, I know when you're hiding something. Tell me what's going on, or you can go back to whatever dimension you came in, alone.”

Now he was cornered, maybe if this wasn't his ex-fiancée this might be easier. He could either tell the whole truth right there or just a half-truth to get her off her back. All this time, something told him to just avoid the most sensitive topics, mainly the missing book and Glossarick. A half-truth would have to work.

Heckapoo was one of the few people that knew him deep enough to know when he is hiding something. Marco realized right there, he didn’t have to contain himself anymore. “Did… did you know that Star had to choose a fiancé just two days ago, her parents forced her to do it... Guess who she picked?” She had heard of the waltz from Moon herself, but how did all of this fit on what's happening now? “She chose me, Hekapoo! from all the other guys there that night, she chose me. How amazing is that?” Hekapoo didn't need too much time to know how Marco felt about the girl, he sounded so happy saying it that it made him smile. She also knew that a huge 'but' would come soon.

“I just love her so much you know, and I thought for a second that...” He just looked down, trying to cover his tears. “...That she felt the same way about me, that we could make all of this work…” He was surprised at a number of tears coming out. He thought he had already passed the worst part of this, but he soon realized that he never cry about it. All of his planning and lies took all his time away from this.

“I was wrong there, she...” Again he needed that pause to control his emotions unless he wanted to start sobbing uncontrollably. “...She doesn't love me, not the same way I do at least.” Heckapoo put a friendly hand over his shoulder in order to show support. Marco couldn’t take it right now, he placed his hands on his head and began pulling his hair in frustration. Then came the sobbing, the loud and tearful sobbing. He didn’t care that he wasn’t alone anymore. “Dammit, Heckapoo! I couldn’t do it. Nothing I did was enough... I love her so much… but she doesn’t love me.” He contained the next scream he felt coming out and covered his eyes with his hands, trying to dry the tears. “What’s wrong with me? What’s so wrong with me that she can’t love me?” Heckapoo just let him vent all his frustration away. There was nothing else she could do anyway.

It took a while for Marco to stop sobbing, but he didn’t stop crying. By this time, the two of them were hugging, with Heckapoo giving him a shoulder to cry. Marco regained enough composure to be able to talk normal again. “I just want to be away for some time, and if I can catch that guy while I'm at it, the better.”

She wasn’t ready to let him go, not like this at least. She still had so many questions about everything that happened. “And, I think the engagement is over then.”

After taking a quick breath. “No, I know that the King and Queen would just make her choose another guy. At least with me, she has a way out… for when she finds the right guy to marry.”

Now Hekapoo was fully worried about him. One thing was being rejected, but what Marco was talking now was insane. “But, Marco, what about you? This would hurt you even more than her on the long run.”

With a stern tone, Marco gave his answer. “It's fine, I can...”

She hit him on his side before he could finish. “No, it's not! Just look at what you said just a few minutes ago, you are basically going on a rampage out of sadness. You could get killed out there!”

Angrily, Marco broke the hug and faced Hekapoo. “I spend sixteen years fighting you, I think I can protect myself.”

She stood up to scold him. “But you still took some time after our break up to recover. You’re fresh heartbroken right now. That's the kind of thing that leads you to make mistakes, and those mistakes could cost you your life.”

He calmed down after hearing that, it didn't mean his plan was out of the table, just that he was going to have a harder time going at it. Marco got up, turned around, giving his back to her and began walking away. “It was a mistake coming here, I can see that now. I can handle myself without Nachos, take care.”

Before he could pull the scissors up, Hekapoo grabbed his arm and turn him around. He was expecting a punch or more scolding, but to his surprise, she ended up hugging him. It was a long hug as he found himself not wanting to let go. A while after, they both manage to break the hug. “Marco, If I let you take Nachos, would you promise me that you will come back in one piece?” Looking at his face, Heckapoo pulled up some tissues. She cleaned up his snot, tears and lastly, she fixed up his hair. She still gave him a worried look, but she still knew that he was going no matter her decision. At least she could help him in some other ways.

Marco was a lot more composed right now. “Of course, you know how tough I can be. Besides, if you let Nachos come with me, I'm going to need to bring her back, don't I?”

They both smile at his comment, she still didn't fully convince about this whole thing, but if she could make his trip a bit safer, it will be enough for her. “Wait here a minute.” She ran upstairs, all Marco could hear was the sound of things being tossed and drawers being opened. In just a few minutes Hekapoo was back with her arms full.

“Here they are. First of all, your sword, I have been giving it maintenance all this time.” Marco took his old sword and unsheathed it, the steel looked better than it had ever been before. “And next, this little boy, you know him already too.”

She handed him a little box, it took him a minute to recognize it. “No, Hekapoo, I made this for you, and I already have money for my journey.” He was carrying the diamond ring he made for her a long time ago.

“I'm not giving you to pawn it! Remember that we got in enchanted, just a quick location spell, and we can find whoever wears it no matter where they may be.” She opened up the box, taking out the small diamond ring from it. She put it on his left ring finger.

This was convenient, honestly, he had no memory of that enchantment, but now he had a lifeline if anything went wrong. Looking at the ring he began to feel nostalgic, it just brought too many memories for him. “You can even give it to your lady friend after you come back, any girl would love you if you gave her that ring.” Hekapoo also found herself on memory lane thanks to the ring.

“For all I care, this is your ring, I'm just borrowing it... I never said sorry for...” Again he was stopped, but now it was with a quick peek on his lips.

“You don't have to apologize, but I'm serious about you coming back. I'll curse your very soul if you break your promise. And I can tell, I wouldn’t be the only one depressed about losing you.”

Marco got a hopeful look in his eyes. “Hey, I'm going to change to my other clothes, can you go get Nachos while I'm at it?”

“Sure, won’t take long anyway.” She went outside to find the dragon cycle. It didn't take her long, Nachos loved running around the swamps, and she loved her treats even more. Hekapoo needed only to wave them around for Nachos to get track of the smell. By then, Marco had already changed unto his renegade clothes. 

Hekapoo quickly came back, with Nachos following behind. The dragon cycle missed no time charging to meet her old friend. “Whoa, girl, calm down. I'm also happy to see you again too.” Nachos was cheerful at seeing her old companion again, but she paid attention when Marco began to speak up. “Hey, girl, I'm going to hunt down a bad guy, why do you say we track him down? Together.” His words seemed to have a positive effect on her, between running in circles and jumping around, she probably had been wanting to go out on adventures again, for a long time.

“Guess you can take that as a yes. Nachos, take care of him, please.” Heckapoo said her goodbyes to Nachos, patting her on the head.

Marco already has his equipment, his weapon, and his trusted companion by his side. He was ready to hunt down Ludo and bring back the spell book. “I'll be back soon, see you later. Oh, and take care of my hoodie.” There was no space left in his luggage to pack it up. He handed her his red hoodie, it just didn't fit under his jacket, and he decided to just go with the gray shirt. “Give it back when I bring Nachos back.” 

Heckapoo took the red hoodie and put it on, lifting the hood to cover her up. “ Doesn’t really suit me, but I’ll keep it nearby.” They both hugged goodbye, and Marco missed no time opening a portal towards Mewni and rode through it on top of Nachos. This was going to take some time, but he was determinate to complete this quest for Star's good. 

A few hours had passed since then. Marco had already gotten enough distance from the Butterfly Castle, and the surrounding land, that he was sure nobody would recognize him here. He took another glance at the castle, it was hard to miss at the distance. “Look, Nachos, that castle over there is where Star lives, looks awesome, isn't it? Nachos glanced at the horizon, but she didn't put that much attention into it. What bothered her was the dark woods in front of them.

“Oh, that, the first of our stops. According to our map, there are some city ruins inside a system of caverns, and the entrance starts on one of the caves here. Granted, we don't have a map of the city itself, but we are just scouting so we don't need much detail anyway.” His companion gave him a sad look, it was obvious that more than Star, his parents, or even Heckapoo. It was Nachos that knew there was something seriously wrong with him right now. Marco took notice of this and quickly tried to calm her down. 

“Don't worry girl, we have gone through worst situations, besides, we just need to find our guy, so till then we can take it easy.” Nachos still looked troubled, but they began making their way forward, they have a tough week ahead of them.

It wasn't long for them to find the entrance to the city. On the outer entrance, there were no sentries, not that this meant Ludo wasn't here. They needed to have a closer look. They approached slowly towards the cavern entrance. Just as they enter the caverns, Marco felt eyes looking at him, so he put up his guard up as they began to enter deeper into the cavern system.

After some minutes of slow riding, Nachos could be amazingly stealthy when needed to, they found the city ruins. Huge portions of the caves opened up, with the roof of the caverns fully open to let the sunlight in, and a huge underground lake that crossed from one side to the other. The houses and buildings looked empty from where they stood, but Marco wasn't about to take it easy, something was watching him he was sure of it.

They had to separate right there, there was no sign of Ludo and his animal minions there. So any clue that they may found here would be useful, or any smell that Nachos could follow. Marco found nothing but empty houses, old tools, books written in a language that he couldn't read, and every other tunnel that started from the city lead to nowhere in particular. Everything was cover in dust and ruined down. All in all, this was just a huge waste of time.

The day had already dawned, and some of the houses were still complete, so at least they had a roof over their heads for the rest of the night. Marco missed no time fishing their dinner. The underground lake was filled with food ready to be caught, and he was no stranger to catching his own food. He needed only to fashion a quick harpoon from the old garbage on the ruins and he was ready.

While Marco was busy fishing, he heard something calling him. “The river...” This scared him, he was sure that it came from the same lake he was fishing at the moment. But Nachos looked like she didn’t hear it. Maybe it was all on his mind, then again, this was Mewni so magical occurrences must happen on a daily basis. The lake, it must come from some place. After the quick fishing and cooking, making a fire on one of the empty fireplaces was easy for him, he then sat down to review his map. The lake was listed there, but it came from a massive river that crossed the whole kingdom. It started in the mountains and also crossed some ruins, several monster temples to be precise. He had his new destination already marked down and he was ready to tackle it down tomorrow.

The night was quiet, it had been so long since he and Nachos had to sleep next to each other. Not like he missed, her scales were not the softest bed he had been into but it was better than sleeping on the floor and way better than being alone on this quest. Yet, he couldn’t dismiss the strange voice he heard earlier. What was it? Was it some kind of magic spell, or one extremely efficient spy? That feeling of being watched kept hitting him on the back of the head, it made it difficult to get some sleep, but not impossible.

He rolled to his side and began to catch some shut eye. It was in the middle of the night that he was awoken by that sensation once more, this time stronger than ever. He was half awoken when he noticed that someone was standing in the doorway. He wasn’t able to take a good look at it, just the silhouette and a pair of eyes in the darkness. Just as he got up and clean his eyes to see better, that thing was already gone. He was still half asleep, so maybe it was his mind tricking him, still, he got up and took a look around, finding nothing, not even footprints to follow.

Next morning, Marco was, half-full, of energy. The first thing he asked of Nachos, after taking a quick bath on the lake, was to drive him out of this place, and as if a miracle had stricken him. As soon as he had exited the cavern from the same place they had entered, that disturbing feeling disappeared, a welcomed relief to say the least.

After some quick foraging by Marco, and a quick hunt from Nachos, they both had breakfast for themselves. The next stop was clear, they traveled up the river to confront that old monster temple if that voice was right anyway. They had to travel a good distance and time to find it. Upstream, the temple was by the river side and built on the clearance of the forest. Again, it looked run down and no sentries.

This was obviously not occupied, but the building wasn’t a big temple, more like a shrine where people go and leave offerings, but, offerings to what? Maybe he needed to stop listening to voices in his head, and it was just after that thought had appeared in his mind that he heard. “No... further...” This, again, scared him, but he needed to know if he was that messed up in the head or not.

Marco left Nachos on the side of the road and approached the shrine, where the voice came from. It seemed that the closer he got to the building, the cleared he could hear that voice. “Further... look further.” It wasn't till he stood in front of the shrine that he, weirdly enough, stopped hearing that voice. Yet, he felt compel to look at the water. The river was calm at the moment, so he only saw his reflection… or… maybe something else.

It was then, that he heard that voice again. “You have to look further ahead. Go where the river starts, you will find your answer.” After that, the voice stopped. Marco rushed quickly towards Nachos, he needed to check that map. There was his answer, from here he could see that the river flood upstream, it crossed a few villages and monster ruins, but at the very end was a huge waterfall. It may take them more than a day, but they needed to find that waterfall. Maybe this trip may be shorter than anticipated.

They didn’t stop for anything other than to eating. It may take them a more than a day on paper, but that is if they follow the roads. Nachos could easily clear a path through the forest. The straight line was the best path they could take right now.

As hours passed, Marco began to feel like being observed again, and it just grew bigger and bigger the more he closed in on the mountain side and follow the river upstream. Pass nightfall, they finally arrived at the waterfall that flows from the top of the mountain. It was a few hundred meters high and covered in vegetation, with the stream of water coming out of the mountainside itself.

He didn’t saw Ludo nor his minions anywhere nearby, and that voice hasn't spoken to him for a while now. Maybe he could find a secret passage behind the waterfall. He settle his camp at the side of the waterfall after the two of them had dinner, Marco left the campground to scout around the mountain, he made sure to let the smoke of his fireplace burn. If the smoke could bring Ludo's forces out or anyone that was out there for that matter. He could finally confront them.

A quick exploration of the right side of the mountain revealed nothing, no entrances, caves or paths. At the distance, he could only see more mountain, no way so go around the back and explore, and no sentries that he could see either. This didn't mean there wasn't anyone there, so the way back to the campground was a quiet one. If he could sneak on any guards that came looking for that smoke, he would find his answers.

He staked out the campground while hiding in the foliage, but he couldn't found anyone, not even Nachos nose could detect something. After an hour of waiting, he decided to come out. Climbing was the only option left right now, five hundred or more meters high, and he knew he wasn't a strong climber. But maybe, indulging in the old ‘secret cave behind the waterfall’ cliché was a better option.

But that would have to wait for tomorrow, he already proved that there was nobody out there, so he decided to sleep right there. After Nachos had gotten comfortable on the ground, Marco got inside his tent and fell asleep. Surprisingly enough, that voice and the feeling of being observed were nowhere to be seen nor heard.

Next morning, after breakfast, Marco decided to explore the back of the waterfall. He stripped down to his boxers and grabbed his sword, he may not have found anything dangerous yet, but it was better for him to be ready if anything jumped him inside. He jumped into the water and swam to the back of the waterfall. Marco wasn't surprised at finding a cave inside the waterfall. The one thing he wasn’t expecting, however, was for it to be that spacious. He swam to the shore inside and got out of the water, deciding to explore a bit. It didn’t take long for him to realize that the cave had no exits beyond the way he came in.

He found nothing that indicated that somebody had been here. Now it was clear that he missed a whole day on a wild chase. Maybe he was losing his head. Two days had passed and he was already following voices in his head to dead ends. Did everything that happened with Star really messed him up that much? He was in his underwear with the sword at hand inside a lonely cave in an unfamiliar dimension. He never went that crazy after breaking up with Heckapoo. Maybe, he should return back home, explain everything that happened and accept his own chosen fate and his broken heart.

Marco sat down by shore inside the waterfall and began pondering his options. Returning home empty-handed and keep the best friend act forever. Keep going until the end of the week, no matter the fact that he had no trace of Ludo or even where to start looking. Suddenly a question arose in his mind. “What is Star doing right now?” Was the only words that he could mutter. Maybe she did go back to Earth and is having a great time with the girls. Maybe she is out there dimension hopping with Pony Head. “I just hope she doesn’t feel bad about what happen.” That was a thought still troubling him. Star was such a good friend that he was sure she must be feeling bad for everything that went down last Sunday. He should have opened up to her when he had the chance.

Suddenly, his eyes began to tear up. Just remembering her words, how much they still hurt him, every time they echo inside his mind. He approached the water and dip his whole head inside of it. He had taken a deep breath, so he managed to stay there for a while, eyes closed and trying to forget everything.

Right there, when he had finally cleared his head, he felt a pair of arms wrapping around his neck. That scared him, to say the least, he jumped back and tried to regain his footing but to no avail. He just ended up falling on his back, with whatever creature that grabbed him falling on top of him. Opening his eyes, he realized the jet black hair of the creature was covering his face, so he couldn’t take a good look at whatever was trapping him. Still, he managed to free himself from its grip and tossed it aside, quite easily weirdly enough. He jumped back and grabbed his sword, but before he unsheathed it, he was able to look at the creature, and it was looking back at him.

“Star?!” Marco couldn't believe it, this was his best friend and loved one Star in front of him, sitting on that cave hugging her knees. No, this wasn't Star, after taking another look at her it was obvious. First of all, this girl had jet black hair, secondly, she was missing the trademark hearts on her cheeks, lastly, her eyes were purple. Aside from those huge factors, this girl was a dead ringer for Star, same face, age, height and body type. Speaking about her body, another quick look at her revealed she was fully naked, just her wet hair was the only thing covering the important bits. All of that made Marco so nervous that he froze in place and looked away from her.

“Who are you? Are you crazy or what? Hugging me like that while you are naked!” Marco couldn’t really do anything than to look away, didn't help that he had just one more piece of clothing on him than her. “Tell me now what are you doing here.” He had already laid the sword on the ground, trying to tell the girl that he wasn’t a threat.

The girl didn’t even blink nor did she moved from the spot she was sitting at the moment. “I live here, I was waiting for you actually.” Marco was surprised at hearing her speak, she not only looked like Star, she sounded just like her. “Tell me, what's your name?”

“… Star... you can call me Star.” He stood there, she didn't sound like she was lying nor trying to mock him. He took another look at the girl, he had seen crazy things before but nothing that played with his mind like this again.

“Nachos! Did you see a girl with black hair in front of me too?” She received no response from his companion. Marco had completely forgotten he was alone in that cave. “Listen… girl, just tell me where's your home and I can take you there.”

This girl just looked at him with a blank expression, and she began to approach Marco, again hugging him but now by the waist. It took him a few seconds before he snapped out of it and push her away. “Ok, you're not making this any less weird. Tell me now why you look like my friend or I'm walking away.”

“I just took a quick glance at your mind to decide on a fitting appetence. That way we could have a talk, I even choose her voice to make you more comfortable.” Marco was still shocked at hearing Star’s voice coming out of her. No matter how alike they looked. “This girl was your strongest memory at the moment, I just decided on some cosmetic changes. If it helps, you can even call me Star, I don't have a name anyway.”

“Just, what are you?” He sat down, it felt as if the weight of this conversation was too much for him at the moment.

Without letting that emotionless expression drop, she answered. “I'm the spirit of this waterfall and the river that flows out of it. I can see everything that happens on its surrounding area, as well as appear from anywhere the water runs.”

She sat down beside him, both of them looking towards the waterfall. “I asked you to come here so we could have a more private talk, up here, nobody would bother us.” She moved in closer to Marco, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Why? What could a spirit want from me that she had to call me all the way to her home?”

“You looked… interesting, and I can help you find who you are looking for.”

This made Marco face the girl, did he just heard that right? “I guess you know who I'm looking for because you peek into my mind? So tell me, how can you help me find him?”

Slowly, the girl rested her head on Marco's lap, again, this made Marco uncomfortable. Not only at the fact that she was wearing nothing, but because he was still only in his underwear. “Locating something as powerful as the trail of that magic wand is easy for me. It's just up to you to convince me to help you.”

Marco was confused at her last statement. “You were the one that called me here in the first place. Why do it if you're not willing to help me yet?”

“Mmm... I just need the right incentive. If I just tell you, you'll just go away.” She made herself more comfortable before continuing. “Why don't you make a promise to me?”

More confused right now at the conversation he could only say. “What kind of promise?”

“If I tell you what you want to know, you have to promise to find a way to free me from this place.” She put a gentle hand on Marco's cheek. “I can never leave the lake nor river. You have any idea how lonely that can get, even for an immortal spirit?” She quickly stood up then began to walk on the water. “I can't get out of the lake for too long, that pretty much limits my travel distance. Even if I'm a spirit, my powers and physical image have limitations.”

It took Marco a moment to realize the quick solution to this. “What if I can get you some dimensional scissors? That way you can go anywhere and come back here when you needed.”

The goddess gave him a doubtful look. “Didn't you look into my mind? I went on a long quest to win my own, you should have seen it.”

She put her fingers on top of her temples trying to see what Marco was talking about. “Weird, I see only short pictures and long blank spaces. Are you sure you went through all of that? Do you really think you can get me a pair of my own?”

“It'll take a lot of talking and begging on my part, but sure I'll get you a pair. After I get my guy.” Well, wasn’t all of this easy enough? Getting those scissors from Heckapoo was the only difficult part of this plan.

She walked back to Marco and kneeled down in front of him. “Promise it, Marco, that's my only way out of this lake. The only chance I have to find somebody… someone to love” That last comment made Marco jump in surprise, and the girl in front of him noticed it. “Surprised? I had looked into thousands of mind all over the years. That’s enough to wish for something more.”

Marco began to feel sorry for the girl. In part because it sounded so much like him at the moment. “Marco, I know you’re hurt right now. I saw what happened and how it made you feel. But you have to hang in there, not for Star, but for yourself. You can’t let these feelings crush you.” She was talking sense right now, maybe because she didn’t want to lose her ticket out of here, but her words weren’t lies. Not that it pained him any less, but he did need to get a hold of his mind at the moment.

Marco put a reassurance hand over her shoulder and smiled. “I promise it, just help me find Ludo, and please, never pretend to be Star ever again.”

She held his hand and began to smile. “Deal.” After exchanging smiles, she put on a serious look on her eyes. They stood up and the spirit walked him into the lake, just long enough for the water to reach past their waist. she placed her hand on his forehead before saying.

“Before we start Marco, you need to trust me as much as you trust Star right now. This is not going to be pretty, but it has to be this way if you want to get visions.” Marco just nodded in acknowledgment. “Now, go limp, but don't hold your breath.”

He did as instructed, the goddess put her other hand on his chest on top of his heart. “Now, Marco, just remember, trust me. Now on three...” They both stood there without talking nor moving. This took Marco by surprise, he was expecting a countdown or some kind of... “THREE!” She suddenly pushed him down, sinking him into the water in a completely horizontal position. Her hands were still on his forehead and chest.

Maybe he was about to see visions on the water surface, or the spirit was going to send images into his mind telepathically. Whatever it was, it better happen soon. He didn't take any air before she pushed him down and it was starting to take a long time. Too long to be honest, and the girl was just watching him dead in the eyes, not even blinking. He lay there for long enough to start carving for air, and afterward, he began to struggle to get it.

It was a horrible feeling and the fact that the only other person there wasn't looking like she was about to let him breathe soon didn’t appease him. No matter how hard he kicked or struggled, he couldn't loosen up her grip. Those minutes felt like hours, and as he was about to lose consciousness, the image of the girl holding him down and the cave ceiling behind began to disappear.

Quickly, Marco found himself in the middle of a river, looking directly at a bridge, and on that bridge, Ludo and his minions crossing it, and they had the book with them. The image advance forward a few days, and locations. Now it was night in the forest, and the rain was hitting hard. He was looking directly down like he was flying parallel to the ground. Ludo was there, trying to find a place to hide from the rain. They all hide inside a weird rock formation. The scene change again, this time to the beach and Marco was in the middle of the ocean staring directly at the beach and the sunset. More specific, the mountain side that ended on the coastline. He saw an old temple carved on the mountainside, he quickly took a closer look. Ludo was just arriving with his whole gang.

An old temple by the coast, to the west. That's where he has been hiding, there he would find him. Suddenly, all he could see was blackness. He felt numbness all over his body and the sensation of air filling up his lungs. Marco rolled around and began coughing all water that got in his lungs. The girl and Nachos looking over him right beside him. “What's wrong with you?! You crazy woman!”

She began to pat him on his back, as to help him spit all that water. “For you to get the visions you need to let go of your conscious self, the water was just a magic conductor... Did it help?”

After he finished his coughing fit, he regained his composure and stood up. “Yes, he is hiding on a temple by the ocean, to the west.” He approached Nachos and took the map from its pouch. “Here, it’s a long way there but we can make it in time if we leave right now.”

“Marco, I have to warn you, I can't help you fight him. I can appear from any part of this lake and the river, but I can't make the trip all the way to the ocean. You'll be alone there.”

Marco hugged her goodbye but didn't let go before he could have some words. “I'm never alone, not with Nachos here, and don't worry. I'll get you your scissors, just wait a little bit for me.”

The goddess just gave him a hopeful look. “I will, don't forget about me, please.” The duo missed no time packing up, they just ate as they packed up. Marco hadn’t truly realized how late it had gotten from when he entered the waterfall. In between exploring, the talk with water girl, the visions and being unconscious, it was already close to dawn. Once they were travel ready once more. The spirit of the river approached him once more. “I know a shortcut too.”

Marco looked at her confused. “Up there, where the waterfall begins.” She signaled him to the side of the mountain where all that water came from. “The one you’re looking for took the long way to the other side. You can cross the mountains from this cavern, you should arrive before tomorrow comes.”

“But, there’s no way for me to get up there.”

Walking to the river, the spirit signaled them to come closer. “I can make the current flow backward, you only need to get in the water.” Marco decided to trust her once more. It was hard convincing Nachos to get in the water, but she complied at the end. Once they were ready, the girl moved them against the current. Helping them climb the waterfall and inside the cave.

They took their time inside thought, even if there was a bit of water inside, but found no food, and they rested when needed to. He couldn't stop thinking about Star though. He began questioning himself once more. She ever thought about him while he was away? What would happen once he brings the book back? Maybe they could start dating, or they could just remain friends. During one of their rest stops. Marco took a little flint rock from the ground and began scribbling on the side of the rock. “I love you Star -M” It was a quick message, he even threw in a few stars to make it look a bit prettier. He wasn’t feeling depressed like before. Having a clear objective ease up his mind and eager him to finish all of this up to go back home. As he began to feel a little bit sleepy, he slid inside the tent and snuggle with Nachos. Tomorrow was an important day.

Turn after turn, endless paths, dead ends, and hours of getting lost in that cave later. Marco had finally found his way out of the cavern. It was already past midnight of the fourth day. They exited that cavern in no better time, their food and water were over. The cave's exit left them on a path over the mountain, he could see the ocean by their right side and the beach underneath. Following the trail, they found a way down that could get them to the beach, but they decided to stay on the mountain and continue forward.

Following their path, they finally found the temple he saw in his visions. It was made of carved stone and positioned on a small island jut bare meters from the coastline, you could walk there on a low tide, but swimming there wouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. Marco dismounted and both of them quickly hide by some chest high rocks. He found out that he didn’t need to cross by the water, the temple had a huge stone bridge that took you to the upper levels, he just needed to follow the path they had been following since they arrived in order to cross it. He missed it on his visions thanks to the perspective he saw before.

The first thing he noticed after the bridge, were the gates at the other end of the bridge, well, more like the guards that were posted in front of them. They may have been normal Mewni rats, but Marco got lucky and saw the huge spider that followed Ludo around as of late passing by. This confirmed, Ludo was here.

Now, Marco had no binoculars to see around, but he knew better than to just charge inside with brute force. At the end of the day, he wasn't here to catch Ludo, he only wanted the book. If he could find the way to sneak inside and take the book unnoticed, this quest will be over. In fact, he needed only to find where they kept the book, then he could just use his scissors to portal it to another place. But right now, if the front door was a no go, how would he infiltrate? Marco thought for a second about his vision, on it, he saw Ludo's gang entering from the beach during a low tide. Maybe there was a way inside from the base of the temple.

They sneak back from where they came from and found that trail to the beach, another quick walk and they could see the base of the temple. Right now, it was a high tide, so Marco was going to need to swim the rest of the way and find a way inside.

And he needed to do it right now, the sun was to rise in a few hours, so most likely, Ludo was still sleeping for a few more hours. The lack of food and water meant he couldn't take another day to scout, he couldn't risk it being caught fishing, and his week was almost over. He needed that book right now.

“Hey, girl, listen, I'm going to go get what I came from, but I'm going to need to do it alone. You wait for me by the cave entrance.” Nachos got worried and began licking his face. “No, girl, you can't come with me, we need to be sneaky on this. Anything goes wrong, you rush over to help me, but till then, you wait by the cave's entrance, got it?” She wasn't fully convinced about this, but she was a loyal dragon cycle and did as she was told. Marco kept only his sword and dragon shield, he was going to need it if there were any trouble.

The swim was a quick and safe one, the real issue came when he found himself on the other side and in front of the temple. Now that he was standing right in front of it, he realized how big it truly was, bigger than the waterfall he saw the other day, and this one didn't look like an easier climb in any way.

He swam around silently, in case any guards were around the base of the temple. On the back of the temple, he saw a way inside, a sewage drain with rusted iron bars, just big enough for him to crawl into, after breaking a few bars. Crossing it, he found himself in what it looked like, a storage room. Tons of old, unused, barrels in a fully darkened room. Looked like no soul had been here in ages, still, Marco made his way inside with care and silence. Exiting from the storage room, he found himself on a lit corridor, and not knowing what path to take, he went right.

Avoiding the patrols wasn't hard, he just on the wooden beams in the ceiling whenever he heard anyone coming, the lack of lit torches gave him an advantage, and the guards didn't seem that much into the job, they were freaking rats.

This was a huge temple, they could be hiding the book anywhere. His best bet was to follow a patrol and see where it took him. Finding one was easy, following it even easier. The problem was, they wandered with no specific pattern, they came across the same standing guards four times, and just walked where they pleased. Suddenly, Marco got a hit of luck, the patrol took a turn on one of the hallways and found themselves in a completely darkened corridor, but what Marco found unusual, was how the rats began to panic and just ran away from the way they came. What could be on this corridor that scared them so much?

He took a look around to be sure it was safe to come down and made his way towards the dark corridor. Just at the end of it, he found a barred door, from the outside, like somebody didn't want people coming in so easily. This may be his prize door until he noticed the wooden planks were rotten and the door covered in dust, nobody had been anywhere near this room in a long time. That may have been the end of it, but Marco got curious about what may be inside the room. After removing the planks with his sword, making as little noise as possible, he made his way inside. The room, he found contain a bunch of sarcophagi, all lined up and in several columns.

So it was the crypt that scared them so much. The whole place was run down, it also stank hard inside, no ventilation would do that in a place full of corpses. The tombs had encryptions on the covers, all in a language he didn't understand. A quick look around revealed that the room was a whole lot bigger than he thought, more and more sarcophagus till the eye could see. He could just turn around and continue to follow the patrols, but he felt compelled by this room, bad smell aside, it was kind of comfy inside, and a place this important must have some hidden doors and passages. Walking deeper into the room, he began to hear voices, not grunts, screams, or squeaks, actual voices that he understood.

Looking around the room, he noticed that the voice didn't come from inside the room. It sounded like it was coming from the room upstairs, he stopped right there, quietly, trying to figure out the source. It was obvious, now that he stopped and listened, that the person talking was Glossarick. He still couldn't figure out what he was saying for sure, but he was so close to his goal right now. He began to inspect the ceiling, trying to find where exactly he needed to enter.

A quick inspection later, he found a small crack in the ceiling not bigger than his fist. Using one of the tombs as a stepping stool, he managed to take a look at the other side. He wasn't able to see much from his point of view, but one thing was sure, Glossarick was in there. He saw just one side of the room and the ceiling, and that was enough for him to portal inside there.

He opened up a portal from the crypt directly into Glossarick's room. It was a quick fall, but he was inside. Looking around, he firstly noticed the door, it was made of wood with iron hinges, probably barred from the outside, next was the window, the sun was about to rise up, and lastly, was the bed. On top of the bed was the spell book, and he could now fully hear Glossarick's voice. Sounded like he was sleep talking, just as a courtesy, he decided to wake him up so that he doesn't get scared when he wakes up at the Butterfly Castle out of nowhere.

He shook the book hard, startling Glossarick up. “Boy! Don't you have any matters, waking people up before sunrise?”

Marco wasn't amused. “Is that how you react to being rescued?”

“Who said I needed to be rescued? Now, go back home before you get hurt.” Glossarick began to retreat back into the book, but Marco stopped him in his tracks.

“I'm not going back without the book! I'm bringing us both home, so be ready.” He pulled out his scissors, but Glossarick wasn't finished with him.

“Boy, you can't go around stealing what's not yours, much less kidnapping me.”

This took Marco by surprise, then annoyance. “Ludo is the kidnapper and thief here! He took you from Star, I'm just here to take you back to her.”

“That's doesn't matter now, he has the book and a wand, and thus he is the legit owner of the book. Come back when you have a magic wand of your own.” He quickly closed the book on Marco's face.

Marco was so furious right now that he abandon the whole keeping quiet aspect of his infiltration. “Listen here blue annoyance! I risk my life looking for that book, and I'm going to bring it back to Star, with or without your permission.”

A blue arm reached outside the book and signal just behind Marco. “Not if he has something to say about it.”

Turning around on his left side, Marco was just quick enough to avoid a green blast to the back of the head. He rolled back and met face to face with Ludo, his eagle and spider following behind.

“Well, well, well. You can thank my magic wand for waking me up and catch you. Now, Earth kid, DIE!!” Marco had to dodge blast after blast in a closed room, he couldn't just portal himself away, Ludo didn't give him enough time to do so. Marco went on the offensive, drawing his sword and donning the dragon shield. With some quick parries, Marco won enough ground to knock Ludo to the side, separating him from his magic wand, next came the minions. The eagle and spider missed no time rushing Marco, he needed to act fast before Ludo regain his wand. Thanks to some quick maneuver, he managed to jump behind both minions and face the exit. He ran away from the room, but he wasn't done, far away from it, he already had a plan. If he could lose his pursuers inside the temple, he could quickly open up a portal inside Glossarick's room and get away with the book.

He heard from behind him. “You think you can escape kid? My minions will find you no matter where you try to hide!” Marco wasn't scared by Ludo's threats, he kept up with his plan and tried looking for a place to wait the alarm down. Easier said than done. From every corner he turned, another wave of rats cut his way, some of them were small parties that were quickly dispatched, others were just tides of rats that covered the corridor to the roof. He couldn't just enter one of the rooms with pursuers so close to his trail, he would just end up trapped, the only thing he could do was keep running.

Running around the temple, he found the stairs up, figuring most of the rats were on this floor already, he followed them up. Just as he entered the third-floor corridor, he was attacked by Ludo's spider falling down on him and pinning him to the ground. It was thanks to his shield that he avoided the poisonous fangs, the only problem was that his sword was trapped underneath him, not able to lift it up to save himself. He tried kicking her down but to no avail. The spider suddenly jumped up to the ceiling, and Marco used this opportunity to stand up, just to be met with a blast to his back that knocked him down again. He didn't catch a breath as it was the eagle's turn to sweep down and tackle him further inside.

Getting up, again, Marco saw that he was in the middle of a circular room with no ceiling. The floor was surrounded by several pillars that made a circle around him. On the skyline, he could see the sun barely rising up.

He tried running away to one side, just to be cut off by a wave of rats, he jumped to the side just for the same thing to happen again. He looked around for another way out, just to realize that he was completely surrounded by the rats, no way out at all. From the way he came, the rats moved to the side, allowing Ludo to enter the circle, followed by his elite minions. “Congratulations boy, you fell into my trap, you thought you were finding a way out when instead we were steering you right where we wanted you.”

He prepared himself to battle this small army of animals. “Don't worry now boy, we practice sportsmanship in here, so I'll tell you what's going to happen.” Quickly, the eagle and spider retreated back to have an upper look of the room. “We're going to do battle, just you and me, if you win, I'll let you go.”

Saying nothing, Marco still braced himself to be blindsided from any side. “Oh cmon boy, you get a chance to get out alive, and I get some practice with my magic.” Ludo signaled the minions to take a few steps back and he himself took a fighting stance.

Maybe this was the best chance he had at the moment. “But when I win Ludo, I'll take the book with me!” He gave him a serious glare to drive his point further. “You can keep the little blue man though, I just want the book.” Ludo just laughed before nodding in agreement. The two of them prepare themselves for battle, taking their own stances and waiting for the other to attack.

They fight started, with Ludo keeping Marco at bay thanks to his magic blasts. Marco knew that he couldn't dodge and parry forever, that would just tire him quicker. He had the speed and strength advantage, he just needed to get close to Ludo and it was a sure victory. Keeping the shield up, he started to win more ground by the second, and just a few steps from Ludo, he threw his shield at him, knocking him back. But Ludo wasn't out for the count already, he still had his wand, and he quickly shot another blast at Marco, disarming him.

That last blast took Marco by surprise, he lost his only weapon and means of defense, still, he didn't stop and quickly jumped at Ludo, pinning him down on the ground. Marco just needed Ludo to admit defeat, a few punches to the face will make him comply. Ludo was getting hurt badly right now, his minions thought about intervening but they quickly caught on Ludo's plan. For each punch that Marco landed on him, he could feel his magic power accumulating, but he couldn't use his powers while he had Marco on top of him.

Getting tired of all of this, Marco pick Ludo up and put him on a neck hold. “Now, Ludo, it's my win, surrender the book.”

Ludo began to laugh at Marco, this new position had left his arm free for him to use his magic wand. So first, he sent a shockwave from his position to push Marco away, then, he turned around and began charging his own special blast.

Marco was quick on his reaction, that wave pushed him closer to his shield, so he rolled over to pick it up and put his guard up, prepared to take on the blast like the rest. After a second or two, Ludo had his attack ready and missed no time shooting it. This green blast was so strong that Ludo was pushed back a few steps. With the rats behind Marco stepping aside as to not get hit by it. 

Marco just heard the blast shooting from the wand and then brace himself even harder for it. To his surprise, he didn't felt any kind of force impacting on the shield, he didn't feel anything at all for a moment. 

Ludo began to laugh, and Marco quickly knew what was so funny. His sight began to blur and a huge burning sensation sat down on his right side. Ludo's blast had completely pierced his shield and himself with no issues. Looking back, it even pierced a hole on the pillar behind him, with some of the stone melting away in a green goo. Marco's wound didn't melt or anything like that, but it did burn him a bit. He began to bleed out on the ground, he grabbed his side, trying to stop the bleeding and found himself unable to move, maybe the shot hit more than just internal organs.

“Liked that one boy! This one has a special surprise, a poisonous one!” Marco couldn't hear him right now, he had begun to scream in pain. “So rude boy! Having a pierced liver and poison running in your veins is no excuse for the lack of manners.”

He wasn't surprised at the lack of response from Marco. “Well, guys, this one is done for. We need to pack everything up before his friends find us.” The rats did as instructed and spread out in order to pack up their base. Ludo then referred to his spider. “Tie him up, we leave no loose ends.” The spider quickly trapped Marco on a silk rope around his torso, trapping his arms and leaving him helpless.

Ludo suddenly took his magic wand to his ear, like it was a phone. “What was that?... aha... yes... good idea I'll do that.” Ludo began to gather magic energy in the air. “Listen up guys! I’m blowing this place up so that nobody can track us down!” Just as everybody heard that the rats began to panic, and the eagle and spider moved to Ludo's side. “This was a nice place, but if Earth boy here managed to find us, is better to get another hideout.” He gathered up his magic energy on the air. “A quick time bomb and we're all set. How much time do you think we need to escape?” He again looked at his magic wand for answers. “One hour it is.” The magic energy settled down on a green sphere with a huge timer on top of it, the timer read fifty minutes. "No! not fifty minutes, a full hour!" Ludo shot another blast at the sphere, it now read half an hour, and the clock began to tick right there.

As the clock began to tick down, Ludo and his forces paniced and began running away. "Let's grab the book! We need to get out of here, FAST!" They made their way out, leaving Marco alone to escape on his own.

Horrified, Marco struggled to free himself from the web ropes, which now stained red from his blood loss. He had less than an hour to escape the building or he'll blow up with it. Hell, right now he could escape the explosion and his life will still be in danger thanks to that hole in his torso.

He tried standing up to run for it, he may still be bounded but he will be safe from the explosion. He quickly realized that wasn't going to happen, not only did the wound burn hard as he began to move, the poison began to take effect, numbing his legs. Speaking about that poison, it wasn't just about the numbness in his legs. He noticed he was sweating like crazy, and his eyes began to feel heavy, he would soon pass out. So he had to be damn sure to be in some other place by the time that happened. By sheer force of will alone, Marco got up on his own feet.

His sight was beginning to blur out already, so he wasn't able to notice his sword laying on his way till he stepped on it. Yes, he needed only to cut the web with his sword and it'll only take him seconds to use his scissors. Bending down and picking the sword as best he could with his hand tie up. For him, it seemed like an eternity to begin the task, and the numbness in his fingers wasn't helping. He had trouble picking up the sword and even dropped it a few times. Once he managed to get a decent grip, he began to cut himself free.

Once he managed to free himself, another problem arose, the blood loss. The ropes around his torso were too tight that it acted as a tourniquet for his wound. With them gone, the blood began flowing once more and his vision was almost gone. This was also a quick fix, he just needed to make some bandages out of the cut ropes. In between screams and grunts, Marco had made a half decent bandage and almost fully stopped the blood from coming out.

Now he was up, he was free and just needed to get the scissors ready. He took a little look at the magic bomb and was shocked at seeing that all those actions took away almost all his time, the timer was beginning to enter the last five minutes of the countdown. He froze into place, the fear he felt right now was messing up with his mind. Marco needed to think on the place he wanted to go in order to open up a portal and thanks to the poison, exhaustion, blood loss and the fact he was scared to the bone, he wasn’t able to keep it together.

A thousand of thoughts raced in is mind, he had a way out of the explosion, but even if he escaped it, he was sure to die from his wound. No matter how mature and clear headed he could be, he couldn't escape the fear of death. So whenever he went to right now, that will be where he will pass out and die. So it was a more a matter of who he wanted to see before dying. Family, friends? Star? Leaving the fear aside, he thought of their reactions, just him appearing out of nowhere, dying. It was painful to think about going away alone, but he couldn't do that to any of them, no matter how much he wanted to see all of them one last time.

Looking at the timer once more, he had less than a minute to decide. Outside it was, on that little mountain pass on the other side of the bridge, at least Nachos will be there. On the other side of the portal, he lay down on his back and waited for Nachos to appear. At least he had a nice view of the temple once it blew out.

Laying on the rocky ground, he realized he had no more energy to stand up, not even crawling was an option right now. He grabbed his wound, just to realize it didn't hurt anymore, but right now he wasn't feeling anything so it wasn't a surprise. He was looking up at the sky and noticed Ludo’s eagle soaring the sky, flying away with the spell book levitating behind them. It quickly dawned on him, he failed, all that time, the tracking, and risks he took were for nothing. His skills had failed him, or maybe, they were never enough in the first place, he was just a teenager after all. 

He thought again of all the people that would miss him. His parents were the first one to pop in his mind. He could only feel sorry for them, maybe they could've been better parents at some points, but no parent ever deserves to lose a son so suddenly. Next were his friends, he may not have a lot, in fact, he couldn't imagine their reactions apart from just sadness. But he loved them all and how many good times they spent together. Maybe Tom's reaction would be a furious one than the rest, and how would Hekapoo react? To be honest, he always questioned himself if he was more than just a passing relationship to her, but maybe thinking ill of one of his closest friends wasn’t right at the moment, and, damn, that girl from the lake was going to stay there forever most likely.

What about Star? Sure she didn't love him, but still, they were the closest of friends, well a bit more than friends. He couldn't picture anything else but tears on her face, he was going to make Star so sad. That was the one thing he was taking from this whole thing, not only the futility of this whole quest but the fact that now he was going to make Star feel horrible. He just loves her so much, and their time together may not have been a lot, but it was the best time of his life.

Maybe if he had done something different, things may have turned up better. Maybe he should have gone back to the Queen after he found their hideout, maybe if he had stormed the temple with someone else there, or maybe if he hadn't gone with this crazy plan in the first place. If he had managed to get a hold on his emotions and hadn’t gone full angst mode, he wouldn’t be here right now. But none of that was the case here, he made his choice, and was now paying for his actions.

“Star...” Was the last thing he could whisper before passing out. On those last seconds he had of consciousness, he heard Nachos quick approaching to his location, and the explosion of the bomb going off in the distance. He was already well covered on the mountain path, so the aftershock didn’t affect him. Nachos approached from the mountain trail at top speed, she stopped only at the sight of the massive explosion. She found Marco laying on the ground, still bleeding out, she caught a sickening smell coming from him, and he wasn't moving. He needed help right now, she struggled for a few minutes picking him up and putting him on the seat. Where to now? The only way back took them to the caves, and that was a long way back, Marco would surely die before getting out of the cavern.

Suddenly, her answer came in the form of a familiar voice, and then another one, both of them were calling for her companion. She rushed to the source of the voices, carefully as to not hurt her passenger more. Both Hekapoo and Star were already on the big crater of what once was the temple, just screaming Marco's name over and over, praying for a response. Hekapoo even had several clones of herself going around the debris and investigating the beach for any sign of the boy.

“I see something, it's Nachos!” One of the clones screamed, causing the girls to come running in her direction. The clones gathered up around the dragon cycle and unloaded something from its seat, laying it on the sand and disappearing at Hekapoo's command.

Star ran closer to where Nachos stopped and looked down, what she saw shocked her to the bones and froze her in place. Marco lay on the sand, with a huge blood stain on his right side, along with the wound that accompanies it. 

His face was all pale and he looked more sick than ever before, but what Star didn't notice at the moment was his breathing, weak yes, but still present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll like to think I didn't go too dark on this chapter if I did it wasn't my intention. I had to illustrate Marco's mind struggle, hope I got it right and didn't come up too annoying angsty teenager. This chapter ended up being longer than the others because I wanted to get Marco's side of the story out of the way entirely. About Ludo, I got the idea that he might have been on the run for a long time, so he hid in several places before arriving at the last place in the show. Now, for real, just two more chapters.


	18. Your Love's Keepin' Me Tonight.

Star was frozen in that beach, not being able to move or react to anything happening in front of her.

“Star! Snap out of it, he needs our help!” Heckapoo checked for vitals and signal Star to take action. “Put pressure on his wound, stop the bleeding.” Star acted quickly, but her actions were clumsy and inexperienced. “His pulse is weak. We need to take him to your mother, she can heal him.”

With no other word, Heckapoo opened up another portal and with the help of Star and Nachos, they manage to carry Marco to the other side, arriving at the throne room of the Butterfly Castle, but nobody was there, not even the guards. “Stay with him, I'm going to look for the Queen.” Heckapoo created more clones and she herself mounted on top of Nachos, they all scattered around looking for Star's mom.

This left Star all alone with a dying Marco. She was still shocked and she couldn't snap out of it, best she could do it's watching her friend, that's it. Only look, not being able to do something, more like, too scared to do anything. She was frozen in place, with her hands putting pressure in Marco’s wound, not even tears could flow. What finally snap her out of the shock, was when he stopped breathing. She even put her ear on his chest, trying to hear something, nothing but silence. 

From shock she went directly to terror, she was so terrified right now that she began to cry. She cried and cried, holding Marco close to him. Her screams could be heard from all over the castle, Marco had died in her arms and she did nothing about it. Her pain got to the point that she shut the rest of the world around her, right now her world was the two of them on the floor. It was right there after she took a deep breath and prepare another scream, that her emotions reached their limits and she went deep down.

With Star’s eyes and heart marks glowing a bright white light, and her skin turning fully purple. She plucked some of her own hairs and charged them with magic energy, making them glow as white as her eyes. The strings of hair became straighten up thanks to her magic, and she was able to use them as needles and thread. Star used her magic needles to closed up Marco’s wounds, the scratches, and cuts that were visible at least. She moved on to the ugliest wound in his side, it was harder to work on this one thanks to the dead tissue, but it didn’t give much resistance to Star’s magic. 

Finishing with his wounds, the needles didn’t even leave scars on his body, Star had one last long hair needle on his hand, in one quick move, she stabbed Marco in the heart with it. The needle burrowed deeper into his heart by itself. That last needle to the heart manage to return the color to Marco’s face, but he still didn’t wake up.

With the treatment done, Star went back to normal and looked at her own hands in confusion. “Didn’t know I could do that… or that I could knit.” Happiness quickly set in, she managed to save Marco by her own. “I did it, Marco, I saved you!” She began to kiss his face in quick succession, one kiss after the other. “Wake up, Marco, you already slept too much, man, you sure scared.” She began to shake him, gently, in order to awaken him. “C'mon, Marco, I cure all your wounds, you must wake up.”

Fear began to set down again, could it be that she was too late to save him? She knew that no matter how strong her magic was, there was no way to bring back the dead once they're gone, not without a totally different kind of magic altogether. By the time she was beginning to felt the sadness overtake her again, she noticed her parents standing a few steps away from them, with Heckapoo besides them.

In between sobs and tears, Star said. “Mom... dad... Marco is dead, I couldn't save him!” Again, Star began to cry out while holding Marco close to her. “No matter... no matter how strong I was... my magic couldn't save him.” She went into max hysteria once more, not able to hear what anyone else said.

“Star...” Queen Moon approached her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to call her out. “Star, listen...” The cries and sobs of Star didn't let her be heard.

“Star! He isn't dead!” Hekapoo screamed at her, catching up Star's attention. “I can see him breathing from here, although, it's a weak rhythm.”

Queen Moon talked again. “That's why you need to let me take him to the infirmary, guards!” The guards entered the room and tried taking Marco away from the princess, only for her to avoid it.

“I know where the infirmary is, I'll take him there myself.” She carried Marco bridal style and ran towards the infirmary, with everybody else running behind her. Once she arrived at her destination, she laid Marco on one of the beds.

“Now, Star, you need to leave the room, I need...” The Queen was quickly shut down by Star.

“I'm not leaving him, mom! I...” Star was quickly picked up by her father by the arms and over his head. No matter how much she moved and kicked, she was outside the infirmary in seconds.

Star even refused to leave the corridor and just paced from one side to the other in front of the door. Her father was the first one to approach her. “Sweetie, have some faith in your mother, she is going to have your friend up in no time.”

“I know, dad, and I know Marco will be alright, it's just that...”

Her father quickly hugged her, and she hugged back stronger. “You can't stop yourself from being worried. It's tough, I know, not knowing if someone important to you is going to come back to your side.”

All of her worries sounded even worse now that she heard it from him. “Dad, he almost died back there, in my arms. I... I...” River kissed her on the forehead, as to calm her down.

“But he didn't sweetie. You saved him, and we all saw it. I bet he will be up and running in no time. All thanks to you.” But Star knew the truth, Marco got hurt because of her. If she had figure out her feelings for him before, Marco would have never escaped and get himself hurt like that. Still, she kept quiet about that part. “If it makes you feel any better sweetie, I'll wait with you till your mother comes out.” Star nodded in agreement, but she suddenly noticed Heckapoo signaling her over.

Heckapoo was beside Nachos, just scratching behind her ears. “Well, princess, it sure got... intense back there. You going to be alright?”

“I'll be when I see Marco again.” Heckapoo smile at the Princess words.

“Well, I can think of another girl that feels like that.” She brought Nachos forward. “Nachos here doesn't feel like going back till she is sure that boy is safe. Can you take care of her while I check some things up?”

Star patted Nachos on the head before talking to the girl. “Sure, but what's so important that you can't wait a few minutes?” She was genuinely worried, she didn't say it just to be mean.

“I have my own duties to attend, and I can't just send a clone to work them for me. But please, ring me up as soon as he wakes up.” The girls hugged goodbye. Heckapoo wished she could be there for her friend, but she had neglected work for a while now, and she knew that Star’s heart was in the right place. Heckapoo said one last goodbye to Nachos and a quick wave towards King River before exiting via portal.

Suddenly, Star’s stomach began to growl, she didn't have breakfast that morning and the magic she used earlier took more energy than she expected. She wasn't alone on her hunger, Nachos belly began to rumble too. King River took notice and laugh. “Looks like you girls need to fill up. I'll bring you something from the kitchen, just wait here.” Excusing himself, King River made his way down the corridor.

Star sat down beside the infirmary door, and Nachos sat down alongside her, resting her head on the Princess lap. Star was so scared about what may happen to Marco that she could only press her forehead at Nachos side and began to cry silently. She couldn't stop fearing about Marco, she could swear her mother was going to come out of that room with horrible news any minute now. Even if Marco ends up alright and well, how could she explain what happen to his parents? 

What if Marco's parents blame her for what happened to their son? What if they get so angry they forbid them from seeing each other anymore? What about their friends? Starfan and Janna must be worried to dead about Marco, but she had to wait for the news first before she could call them. The worst part of all of this, the one thought that she couldn't shake away. This was her fault, that green magic explosion was the same green from Ludo's wand, it was obvious for her that Marco went looking for the book of spells. So, Marco went looking for the book she lost, because he felt heartbroken at her lack of resolve. She didn't mean for everything to go down like this. Marco couldn't die like this, she still needed to confess her feelings to him.

The King appeared again on the corridor, this time carrying two big platters with food, he was followed by two guards that brought some meat for Nachos. He sat down to the other side of her daughter and handed her one of the platters, Nachos pretty much snatched the meat from the guards as soon as she could. The first thing he noticed, as soon as Star raised her head to grab the food, was her tears. He understood where they came from, he was familiar with that feeling. “Sweetie, I know how you feel right now. It's normal to worry about your friend...”

“He isn't just a friend dad, I love him… for real.” Her voice came across as more sad than angry or stern.

“Well, congratulations on figuring out how you feel sweetie, and now that you discovered them, I need to tell you something important.” He let his own platter on the ground before referring directly to Star.

“This will never get easier. Being afraid that the most important person in your life may not come back home one day, will be the biggest fear you would face in this kind or relationship, especially with the position and power you'll inherit.” Sure, this wasn't going to appease Star in the slightest, but it was a harsh truth of life. “No matter how strong your mom is, I still worry every time she has lo leave the castle, and even if you master the magic power flowing in you. I always wished I could be alongside you, protecting you.” He gave Star a warm hug, as to comfort her sadness.

“But, what can I do then? I can't be with my love ones at all time.” River broke the hug before answering.

“It's true, you can't always be alongside your loved ones, but that is a matter of trust. The way I think is, if you both trust in your mutual love, you’ll always be together, no matter how a far you two are.” This made Star smile, a hopeful smile. “You just need to be sure that you want them alongside you, remember that. Now, dig in, before it gets cold.”

Star hugged him one last time and then looked down at her food plate. By now, Nachos was half done with her food, and she hadn't even started. She began to eat up, just enough to feel full. By the end, her nerves were calm and she was more fire up to keep sitting and waiting for news. A few minutes after her late breakfast, the door open up and her mother came out. “River, could you step in for a moment?” The King comply and entered the room. This bothered Star up, why would she called her father in but not her? Were they trying to hide something from her?

As soon as the door closed behind King River, Star stood up and glue her ear to the door. She couldn't hear anything aside from a few mumbles and whispers that sounded like her parents, but she couldn't hear Marco's voice. She tried pressing her ear harder and closer, maybe she could decipher the whisper into a coherent sentence. Suddenly, the door opened up and she fell forward, her parents looking at her without surprise. “Star, Marco is all right, he's just sleeping at the moment. You can go see...” Star gave her no time to finish before she rushed inside towards Marco.

Looking at the sleeping Marco filled her with joy, he looked just as peaceful as when he slept back at home. She took air in order to wake him up with a cheerful scream, but her mother stopped her. “Let him sleep Star, he needs to recover, come back to the doorway I have some questions to ask you.”

She sounded so serious right now. Going back to the doorway, Moon began her interrogation. “So, tell me Star, what happen to Marco?”

“I don't know.” She could feel her parents don't believe her, she didn't even need to look up to see their faces. “It's true guys!” She calmed down before explaining what she knew about the situation. “Back on Earth, I discovered that Marco wasn't with his parents on some 'family emergency'. He told his parents that he was here on Mewni with us, that's why I called you the other day.”

They both got worried all of the sudden. “So his family didn't even know where he was? They must be seriously worried right now.” 

Star spoke up before his dad did something dramatic. “I didn't tell them that he was missing either, as soon as I found out he wasn't home, I went out looking for him.”

This took Moon to her next question. “So, you called Lady Heckapoo for help, how did you even know her?”

“Well, to be honest, she is more of Marco's friend than mine. That's why I went to her for help in the first place.” She needed to came out clean of all she saw before finding Marco. “We track him down to Mewni and then to an old Temple west of here. Mom...” It wasn’t a long shot at all, she needed to share it nonetheless. “Mom, I think he went out looking for the book of spells. When we arrived at the temple, there was a huge magical explosion, the same kind of magic of the monster that took it from me.” Her mother looked worried for a few seconds.

“Then, his injury makes more sense now, and the poison too.” Star looked worried at her words. “No need to worry yourself Star, your magic saved his life and I clear the remaining poison with some medicine. Although he still has some left in his system, he should be expelling it by himself in a day or two.”

River took a step forward and spoke up. “Now, we must go tell Mr. and Mrs. Diaz about what happen.” Queen Moon open up a portal with her scissors and signal Star to cross it first. This surprised Star, to say the least, she was scared of what Marco's parents may say to her. 

She already faced her fear of losing Marco but wasn’t ready to go against the fear of his family hating her for what happened. “Why don't you guys go by yourselves? I mean, you haven't even met Marco's parents.”

Without missing a beat, Queen Moon spoke up. “Star, we need you there to explain what you saw. Besides, what you said is true, they don't even know us, what if we scare them just entering to their house unannounced?” Maybe they'll be excited to have surprise guests, Star thought, but her mother made sense. They were going to receive some harsh news, so it was better they hear them from somebody they knew and trusted. Still, this didn't mean her fear vanished, she was just going to dive in and brace for the worst.

Crossing the portal, they found themselves at the front door of the Diaz's household, a quick knock on the door later and they were welcomed inside by the married couple. They all sat down and began talking. “Your Majesties, what brings you two here so suddenly?” Mrs. Diaz asked as she passed some water glasses around.

“I need to tell you something, about Marco.” The couple was confused at Star's words. Now that they look at her, it seemed like she had been crying, and her tone didn't keep them calm in the slightest. Star explain all of it, how she figure out Marco lied to all of them, how she found him back on Mewni, and how she saved his life and her mother helped with the recovery. 

By the end of the recap, The Diaz's were shocked about everything. Star brace herself for the screaming. “But you two are fine now, right?”

She wasn't expecting that reaction from Mr. Diaz, she couldn't even answer she was that surprised. Her father had to intervene. “Yes, they are, your boy is back in our infirmary sleeping.”

Marco's parents hugged in happiness like they didn't just tell them that their only son almost died. “We are glad he is fine, and thank you all for helping him. Especially to you Star, we're glad he has you.” Star couldn't help it, she knew they could be extremely forgiven, but to just heard them being so grateful for her help warmed her heart. For, like, the fourth time today, she began to tear up, sobbing quietly while she reached out to Marco's parents, hugging them.

“Now there Star, there's no need to cry, both of you are all right and that's what matters to us. When can we see him, Your Majesties?” Star's parents were moved by the couple’s kind heart and attitude, moved and surprise. They kind of were expecting a stronger reaction.

Moon spoke up. “Right now he is sleeping, and won't be waking up till tomorrow. I don't see why he shouldn't wake up in his own bed.”

“I'll go get him.” Star opened up another portal back to the infirmary, she walked to where Marco was sleeping, finding Nachos sitting on the floor beside his bed. “Aw, you're protecting him, good girl.” She patted Nachos on the head. “We're going to move him back home, so give me a hand here.”

With their combined effort, they manage to lay Marco on top of Nachos, and they crossed back again to Earth. This time, Star opened the exit portal in Marco's bedroom, which was a bit cramped with Nachos there, so they moved to Star's bedroom, where they finally lay Marco on top of her bed.

“You can stay here Nachos. Just be sure to tell me when you need to do your business, and please, don't eat the puppies.” With another pat on her head, Star turned around and saw Marco sleeping, maybe she could make him more comfortable. She took a look at his clothes and instantly recognize them. “What were you thinking when you put together that outfit man. I need to take it out, is not only cover in blood, it has a huge hole in it.” She took his jacket off, next his gray shirt, which made her stop for a few moments to appreciate the view. Blushing, she took the gloves and shoes off. She rolled the bed sheets over the boy to cover him, and with that, she deemed her work done. Nachos was already laying beside the bed sleeping, and she needed to walk downstairs to tell everybody that Marco was all set.

Walking out of her room, she realized she was still carrying Marco's bloody clothes. Not wanting to worry Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, she threw them in the bathroom before going downstairs. She saw the couch empty, and some laughs coming from the kitchen. Investigating the source of the sound, it revealed that her parents were helping around the kitchen, and talking with Marco's parents.

She walked inside to tell them the news. “Hey, everybody, Marco is upstairs in my room, he also has his dragon cycle with him. So, I'll be careful if you want to enter his room.”

“Another pet? You think it'll get along with the puppies dear?” Mr. Diaz asked his wife while preparing some meat by the sink.

“Oh, if Marco brought it home, I'm sure it's trained.” Star's parents were surprised at their words.

“So, what are you guys doing?” Star could only see the adults moving around, for the look of it, she would assume they were preparing lunch. But she could never see her parents working around the kitchen.

“Oh, the Diaz's asked us if we wanted to stay for lunch, and we decided to help them around.” River was cutting the vegetables with amazing finesse.

“Oh, Angie, I need to pop back home to get some spices, can I leave you to cut the meat?” Ms. Diaz just nodded and Queen Moon disappear via portal. Some minutes later, she came back with a small vial. “Here it is, this will give the meat an amazing flavor.” Well, would you look at that, Star's parents could act like normal people sometimes, in fact, if they weren't dressed like royals like now, she could totally assume they were normal earthlings.

“Star, sweetie, why don't you call your friends and tell them Marco is alright?” Her mother made a very sounding point, Janna and Starfan must be worried to death about their friend. “We'll call you when everything is set up.” Star leave the adults to their own activities and went back upstairs.

She decided against going back with Marco, he needed to rest. So instead, she walked inside Marco's room and sat on the bed. She pulled out her pocket mirror and send a text to the girls, the chat group she made for her closest friends on Earth, and Pony Head. “We found Marco, he is all right but still sleeping. I was so worried about him.”

She awaited their response, and shortly after, a call from Jackie appeared on her screen. “Oh, crap! Forgot that not all of them knew.” She answered the call and said hello.

“Star, I saw your text, what happened to Marco?!” Jackie sounded worried and surprised about what may have happened.

“Sorry, Jackie, I just found out yesterday and I didn't have the time to tell you about it.” She took a deep breath and explain everything that had happened in the last hours, and how she discovered that Marco went missing since last Monday. Jackie heard all of it, quietly, just processing all the information that was given to her.

“And now he's sleeping in my room and our parents are making lunch downstairs.” Star still felt uneasy about everything, and her voice showed it.

“So, Marco literally died on your hands. Star, you should talk to someone, that sounds like the kind of stuff that’ll mess you up.” Jackie was being honest about it, she just wished she could be there for her friends.

“Well, I'm talking to you right now isn't it?” She didn't want to sound that mean towards Jackie. “Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Hey, I can make time, just give me a moment...” Star could hear voices in the background and some shuffling around. “Just a minute... don't hang up...” Then she could hear someone opening and closing something, then a few footsteps. “Now I'm free, I just needed to slip away from the family reunion. I'm in the basement right now. So speak up, what's on your mind?”

Where to start? “I still can't believe what he did, he lied to everyone and ran away for days. How can he do that without thinking about us, while at the same time being so selfless? He makes me so angry!” Star couldn't figure out what to feel, to be honest, her emotions jumped all over the place.

“Hey, hey, it's normal to feel this way. You're happy that he is alive, angry about what he did, and you still blame yourself for al that happened.” What about that, Jackie manage to figure out Star's emotions before Star could.

“Yes, it's true. Jackie...” Star began to cry as she talked. “I love him, and I almost lost him. I just want to punch him right in his pretty little face and then hold him and never let him go.” Jackie felt for the moment and began to tear herself.

“I know Star, just talk to him as soon as he wakes up. He would understand too, and then you can let it have it.” They both let out a little chuckle. “Star, I can't even begin to imagine how you felt back there, but none of it was your fault you need to understand this. He is with you now, and you both love each other. Isn't that what matters in the end?”

“Yes, isn't it?” In between tears, she let out a small chuckle. “I'm still going to make him pay for worrying me to dead, I promise you.”

Jackie laughed at her comment. “Just don't be so harsh on him, boy doesn't need another Janna.” They both laughed again.

“What about you Jackie, when are you coming back?”

“On the weekend, it's been mostly boring around here, not a single skate park to have fun.” Jackie told Star everything about her trip and her time with her family. Star just wanted to keep her mind busy for a few minutes, and she hadn't even talked with her friend for days. She wanted to make up for lost time.

They talked about their respective weeks. Star told her how she spent her week with Janna and Starfan, but kept the fight with Heckapoo a secret. Jackie just had her trip out state and the little meeting with her family. It wasn't that she didn't like them, they just had different hobbies. She'll feel comfier back home right now.

“Star, food ready!” She heard Mrs. Diaz calling her down. “Sorry Jackie, I need to go.”

“Don't worry Star, I'm getting hungry myself.” They said their goodbyes and hung up. Star ran downstairs and sat at the table. She quickly checked her messages and noticed that the rest of her friends had tried to contact her during her call. They needed to know what happened, she sent another text telling them that they could swing by the house to talk.

“Star, why don't you help your father arranged the table.” Her mother sounded so serious right there, Star just closed her mirror, got up and helped her father with the dishes. Finishing up, they all sat down to eat. Star began eating like she usually did on Earth. “Star, show some manners, you're a guest here.” Star yelp a little bit, why did her parents need to go all the way with their parental instincts right now? “Sorry about her, she must be a real handful.”

Marco's parents just laugh at the Queen comment. “Not at all, she is a total sweetheart, never a dull moment with her around.” Star smiled at Mrs. Diaz words.

“Sure she is, my girl is like the sunrise, always lifting your spirits. Your boy is such a great influence on her.” Oh no, River may say something Star could regret.

“Such a polite boy, you guys must be proud. He sure came from a good household I can tell now.” The whole table laughed at Moon's praise. But for some reason, Star didn't feel like smiling. There was a knot of her throat, another thing she couldn't figure out.

“They sure made a cute couple don't they?” Mr. Diaz's comment didn't stop the laughter, more like, it fueled it even more. Star felt like dying of embarrassment, her blush never stopping, just growing brighter.

“They do in fact, I'll even say, they complement each other so well. Don't you think Star?” Her father question took her off guard. She felt that knot again, just strangling her, not able to let it out. Again, she needed to feel and don't think about it.

What does she want to say that took so much out of her? “I... I think...” This wasn't easy to figure out, but maybe she could have taken a bit more time to word things, or to think it over. Star closed her eyes and just said what first came to mind. “I want to marry Marco.” Star blushed even harder once she heard the words that came out of her mouth. “I mean, not right now, or even tomorrow or next week… But in the future... did he told you about the waltz?” She was beginning to regret her decision.

“The girls told us once they arrived last Sunday. We just didn't think it was right to bring out the topic at the moment.” Mr. Diaz said nonchalantly.

“Why did you feel to bring it up, honey?” Moon was just as surprised by her daughter’s words as the rest of the table, but she did tell Star to figure out her feelings a few days ago.

Her blushing was toning down a bit, just enough for her to speak up. “I just wanted to know if they approve... of this whole thing.” She looked worried once more, with a bit of fear mixed in. “If they approve… of... me.” She shrank down on her chair, just waiting for a response.

“Well, would you look at that Rafael, little Star here is asking for our son's hand in marriage. It's usually the other way around here on Earth, but is sweet nonetheless.” She took Mr. Diaz's hand, who was sporting a grin as big as hers.

“May I say, this is the sweets thing she ever told us. We'll be more than happy if you and Marco get marry, we're honored that you want to be part of our family.” Star not only felt happy about hearing those words, she felt like screaming in happiness, but seeing how Marco was sleeping upstairs she settle with a huge smile and hugging her future in-laws.

“I love you guys! Thank you for everything you have done for me! I'll never forget it.” Star's parents were almost tearing at the scene in front of them.

“Well, at least that's settled. We'll be more than happy to welcome you into our family as well.” King River kept himself calm on his seat, but internally he was squealing with happiness, his daughter had a chance to be happy, and she had somebody to share that happiness with.

Along the laughs and talk, the food went away, and just the five of them remain on the table just talking about everything. It wasn't long till the bell rang and Star got up to answer it. She opened the door and saw Starfan and Janna standing on the other side. “Girls! So good for you to come, let's go upstairs.”

Her upbeat attitude confused the girls, but they still followed her inside. “Oh, right, my parents are hanging up here, say hello!” The girls said hello to all the adults cleaning the table, and they all welcomed them inside. Upstairs, they stopped in front of Star's bedroom. “So, listen here, my mom told me that Marco is not going to wake up till tomorrow. So don't be expecting to talk to him, oh, and Nachos is there with him, so no threatening movements.” The girls nodded and enter the bedroom.

Truth to her words, there she was, a big dragon cycle by the side of the bed, just sleeping on the floor. Janna missed no time approaching Nachos and sitting beside her and rubbing her face on her. “Tell me your secrets dragon cycle.” She whispered into Nacho's ear.

Both Star and Starfan sat on the bed beside Marco. “Is he ok? I mean, what even happened and all?”

It still pained Star to recount the whole thing, but her friends needed to know. She told the story again, missing no details about what had happened. Her friends had worried looks on their faces as the story went on. Star finally ended on how she let Marco rest on her bed because his room is too small.

Janna's face went from worried to intrigue. “So, you stripped Marco down yourself, alone? Wait, is he naked under those sheets?” She signaled towards the boy on the bed, the other two girls weren't amused. “What? I just got surprised that's all. How did his parents react?”

Smiling, Star explained what they said to her. “They were happy that he was alright, and that I was fine. You won’t believe what I said to them during lunch.”

Starfan put on some worried eyes and asked. “What? Tell us Star.”

Star cover her mouth with her hands and just smile, all the while blushing. She was just so happy to tell it out loud to her friends. “Well, you see, we were having lunch downstairs, one thing led to another, so I end up telling the whole table that I want to marry Marco.” She contained her laughter but not her words. “And they said they approve of it, of us!” She and Starfan hold hands and began to squeal loudly until they turned to see Marco so they tone it down a bit.

“It was an impulsive and risky move, yeah, totally your style, Star.” Janna said while taking a selfie with Nachos and quickly send it to someone over the phone. “Yeah, that reminds me, I gotta tell Tom that Marco is all right.” She punched some bottoms on her phone screen and then she put her phone away. “So, Star, be honest here, are you going to forgive him for running away like that?” Janna joined the girls on the bed. “I mean, you love the guy and all, but I promise, if he doesn't get an earful from you, I'll be happy to comply.”

“She has a point Star, don't think his parents are going to talk to him about it, who else is left?” They were talking sense. Star still couldn't let all of this slide and she knew it. 

But Star had another possibility that could happen/ “Of course, that's if he doesn't wake up apologizing for his own idiotic behavior.” All the girls agree on that possibility, he was that much in love to never stop saying he was sorry to Star. “Still, I want to know what he was thinking, just make sure he never does it again.” The room suddenly fell in silence.

“So, are you gonna let me prank him while he sleeps?” Janna received an annoyed look from her two friends. “Gotta lighten up the mood some way girls.” She received a message on her phone. “Hey, Tom says if you're cool with him swinging by tomorrow after he wakes up.”

“Yeah, why not? Reminds me that Hekapoo is also coming tomorrow.” She thought for a second before something else pop into her head. “Which reminds me, where's Pony Head? She would usually already had stomped in here as soon as I send the message.” Star checked her pocket mirror if Pony Head send her a response, she had seen both messages but no response yet. “Any idea what she could be doing?”

“She is your second best friend Star, you tell us.” That just meant Janna had no imagination.

“Maybe she is preparing a surprise for you.” Starfan was into something, but the idea that Pony Head had of surprise was a vast and terrifying one. “Or maybe she is just busy.” Maybe the answer lied in simplicity.

Star could've bought that answer, if a portal hadn’t opened inside her room, with Pony Head rushing inside with murder on her eyes and several weapons levitating around her. “Where's that good for nothing turd! Making my best friend worry to death, I'm going to make him bleed!” Star was sure all her yelling was going to wake Marco up, and Nachos suddenly jumping at Pony Head at full speed wasn't about to calm her worries. “Wanna play buddy? Gonna show you not to mess with Flying Princess Pony Head!” She defended herself against Nachos attack as best as she could, parrying and throwing some good punches back.

Star had enough with the fight and readied her wand towards the two of them. She didn't even give them a chance to stop, she just shot a purple blast that separated into two. One of the blasts hit Nachos and she quickly began to levitate in the air, confusing and scaring her all the way. The other hit Pony Head, which in turn made her hit the ground hard, not able to fly around at all. “Hey! What gives B-fly? I almost had this beast.” Star approached them both, trying not to step on any of the weapons littering the floor now.

“Look, Pony Head, Marco is sleeping on the bed, he needs to recover and you're not helping. So no fighting or killing each other in my room. Promise it Pony Head.” She tried keeping her own voice down while she talked with her friend.

“... Sorry, again, about overreacting Star, I promise I'll not fight anymore.” Star then turned towards Nachos to talk with her.

Nachos whined at the scared she received earlier. “You heard that girl? Nobody is going to hurt Marco, so you don't need to fight anymore.” Nachos whine again before looking apologetic. Star took both of her apologies and dispel her magic that was holding them still. “Pony Head, just one question, what took you so long to react, and why the strong reaction?”

“Um...” Starfan looked like she remembered something important. “I may have told her yesterday that Marco was missing and forgot about it.”

Star looked angry at her words. “Yeah, so I couldn't kill the guy if I didn't know where he was, so as soon as I received your first message I decided to take action. The problem was, I was busy hanging out with the princesses at Saint O's. So I finished as fast as I could but then received your second message. So I decided to chill a bit more time, he wasn't going anywhere. After all that, I went home to pick up my weapons, and here I'm.”

After Pony Head had made herself comfy on the room, they began talking about whatever they wanted. They had nothing else planned to pass the time. “Hey, Star, what's up with all the gold litter around the room?” Janna had been holding that one ever since she stepped into the room. “And, wow, Nachos is loaded with all sorts of bags, wonder what's inside?” She began to look inside all the pouches and bags tied to Nachos chair.

“Well, the treasure is from my adventures with Marco, and you shouldn't be too chill around Nachos, you don't know what she'll do.” The dragon cycle wasn't even batting an eye at the little girl going through her pockets.

“C'mon, what if he has something interesting that he picked up on his travels.” Janna continued her search, while Pony Head looked hurt.

“You went treasure hunting with Marco and didn't tell me about it?” She said with the whiniest voice possible.

“It was during my depression phase from the waltz, besides, we go to a lot of adventures, most of them spontaneous.” Star was dodging all the stuff Janna was throwing out of Nachos pouches. She soon recognized a big piece of paper that came towards her. “Wait, this is from the library at my home. You little scoundrel.” She reached out and slap Marco right in the face, not too hard, just enough to let out her anger.

Starfan look worried at some key words being said. “So, you said his parents approve. Are your parents ok with you marrying Marco?”

“Surprisingly, yes. I mean, they have little to object since he was chosen in front of all those people. But I have to admit, it was troubling at first.” They all got ready to say something else but were quickly interrupted by the door opening. Marco and Star's parents enter, looking at them sitting on the bed around the sleeping boy.

“Star! You shouldn't all be here, Marco needs the rest and you're making all that noise.” Queen Moon scold her with a stern voice.

“Sorry, I just wanted them to know Marco was alright.” Star and her friends got up and walked towards the door.

“We get you're all worried about him dear, but you'll have plenty of time to talk when he's better.” River intervened after the Queen. “And now we need to go back to Mewni, but you can stay here if you want Star.” Star hugged her parents goodbye, she wanted to stay here for when Marco woke up. The Royals said their goodbyes towards the girls and then excuse themselves at the Diaz's, they were perfect hosts on their eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz also said their goodbyes, they had been perfect guest as well, they wouldn't mind having them over again. The Royals open up a portal back home, but before closing it, Moon turned around to tell Star one more thing. “I'll be here tomorrow afternoon to drop some medicine for Marco.” Star nodded and wave them out.

The girls went downstairs, but they leave Mr. and Mrs. Diaz alone to talk with their son. They continue their talk in the living room and a few minutes afterward, Marco's parents came back down, they looked happy as ever but Star knew that they were a bit shaken. As they walked inside the kitchen, Star excuse herself and went looking for them.

They were washing the dishes together, not really talking to the other. It wasn't long till they noticed Star looking at them. As they looked at her, she walked towards them to hugged them. They joined on the group hug and stayed there for a few moments. They never talked, Star just thought that they needed the hug, and they felt she needed it more than them when in reality, they all needed that. The moment Star broke the hug, she was already tearing up a bit, they just look at her for a second before Star dry her tears and smiled at them. “Hey, Star, we're about to play a movie from Marco's collection, wanna join?” Star hopped back to the living room, leaving Mr. and Ms. Diaz alone.

“We just got a new daughter Angie, isn’t that the best?” He kissed Mrs. Diaz in a fit of happiness. They continued to clean up, occasionally going upstairs to check on Marco. The girls spent their time talking and watching movies. From time to time, Star also made some rounds upstairs, checking to see if Nachos needed to be taking out. It only happened once, and Janna was more than happy to help with the task. Aside from that one walk around the neighborhood, none of the girls went outside at all.

Soon enough, it was nightfall, and all of them needed to go back home, even Pony Head had to go back. They said their goodbyes and went their respective ways.

Star felt tired all of the sudden, it was a long day so it was to be expected. Walking into the kitchen once more, she noticed Marco's parents having a light dinner, and she joined them. Again, it was the usual dinner, quick eating and small talk. “So, Star, you think Marco would be fully recovered for next week?”

It was a weird question, but Star answered quickly. “I'm sure, but what's happening next week that's so important?”

“Well, our family road trip, we promise you two that we'll find the time.”

Star was surprised hearing that, she had almost forgotten about the trip. “You still think we can go? I mean, it's just one free week left.”

“Sure we can Star, just with fewer stops along the way, but we will enjoy ourselves, as a family.” Star smiled at them, she restrained herself from asking details about the trip, she wanted to keep it a surprise. After dinner, she excused herself and went back upstairs.

Now with her stomach full, all she wanted was to sleep. She got ready for bed, taking her time with every step, soon, she finally was ready to jump to bed. As she entered her room, she remembered that it was already occupied by one Marco. 

She weighed her wants and needs. She really didn't need to sleep on her own bed, Marco's bed would be more than ok for her. But she hadn't seen Marco for days now. Besides, Marco could wake up earlier than expected, so looking at a familiar humanoid face when that happens would be good for him.

On top of all that, she really wanted to cuddle again. She didn't need to explain nor contain that wish right now. Star jumped into bed and hugged Marco. She noticed that he was wearing his pajamas now, maybe his parents changed him earlier. Best for her, this made things less awkward for her.

The heat of the room didn't bother her, Nachos light snoring didn't bother her, even Marco's smell like he hadn't bathed for a day or two, wasn't bothering her. It was just the two of them going to sleep, finally together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought we all needed a lighter chapter after last one. The epilogue will take some extra time to finish and polish up. But I'll try to have it ready before next week.


	19. Would you Marry me, Please?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never really planned a huge epilogue so I hope none of you are let down about this last chapter. What I did plan before hand was to give the story a happy ending, and I like this ending and how it ties up everything together.

Hours passed, it was the dead of the night when Marco finally awoke after his hard day and recovery. 

He felt almost nothing as he opened up his eyes, his whole body was numb and he was a bit light-headed. The first thing he noticed was the low light filling the room and he wasn't sleeping on his bed, this one was way bigger. Next thing he noticed or felt, was something on top of him like it was wrapping around his body. Slowly, he lifted the bed covers and found himself wearing his pajamas, but more importantly, Star was the thing on top of him. She was cuddling with him while sleeping.

Putting two and two together, he concluded that this must be heaven, all of it. Last time he was awake he had a nasty wound on his chest, which now it seemed to had disappeared, and after putting two on top of two, this seemed like something straight out of his happiest dreams.

Sitting up, he shook Star gently trying to wake her up. Star woke up slowly, and after rubbing her eyes, she looked at Marco and smile. She was ready to say something to him but Marco began kissing her right in the mouth. Star happily comply to his kisses, it was a bit surprising, but after all that had happened during the week this was a welcome release. It was like all their concerns and hurt feelings were fully behind them at the moment. Star was simply happy at the moment, and this was the best way to express it without words.

They don't know how long they were making out, but they sure noticed how fast it ended. From the beginning, Marco kept his hands around Star's waist, but he slowly began to move them up. It was till he rested them on Star’s chest that she jumped in surprise, swatting his hands away and pushing him back, which made him yelp in pain.

“Ah! Why does my body hurt this much? Ain't I suppose to be dead?” The pain he felt on his chest was followed by several others around his joints as he so abruptly moved his arms.

“You're not dead Marco! And don't get so touchy feely with me all of the sudden…” Star was blushing hard and covering her chest in embarrassment. “I... heal your wounds... back on Mewni.”

Marco's face went red fast, realizing what he did make his sweat run cold. “But... but... I'm not on Mewni, this isn't my room, and where's Nachos?”

“You're in my room back on Earth, and look over there.” She pointed at the bedside where Nachos was resting, even Marco's little scream of pain wasn't able to wake her up. Star touched his shoulder to see what was wrong, he flinched in pain when he felt her hand pinching him. “Mom told me you still have some poison in your system, but nothing to be concern about. How are you feeling?”

Marco moved his arms and bend his neck a bit, all of these movements pained him like a bad muscle spasm. “Well, the pain is all over my body but is not a lot. I’ll be alright.”

They looked at each other in the eyes, and they both began to smile. Star put a gentle hand on his cheek which Marco held warmly with his own. Suddenly, Star's smile turned into a furious frown and she quickly slapped him across the face, which pained him even more than before, but he managed to disguise his scream like a grunt.

“What were you thinking running away like that?! You almost die back there, no, you died there, in my arms!” She punched him in his chest on her fit of anger and just continue to do it, but only at half strength. “You died in my arms Marco, you stop breathing... I almost lost you.” She stopped with the punches and just hugged him close to her while she began to tear up.

They hugged tightly there, Marco tried to say something but Star gave him no chance to reply. “You worried me and the girls to death when we found out you had gone missing, Heckapoo was worried about you, damn, even Tom sounded worried about you.” Again, he tried to reply to her words, but Star wasn't over with him. “I had to tell your parents what happened to you! Can you imagine how hard it was? I thought they'll scream at me, telling me they never wanted to see me again!” In between screams and scolding him, she managed to throw in her final thoughts. “Did you really think I'll just forget it and let it slide? After you lied to everyone, to me?” By now, Nachos was already up from all that noise. Marco had already noticed her. Nachos didn't seem scared nor shocked at the crying princess, she just rested her head on the bed, looking at the two teenagers hugging.

It wasn't uncommon for Star to get all emotional, but this was different from those other times, she wasn't angry nor sad. Star was scared and the shock of everything that happened was hitting her again. Marco looked at how scared Star was right now and instantly regretted all of his actions. He never thought how she would feel when he came back, especially if he came back empty handed.

Star finally calm down enough to give Marco a chance to answer. “I'm sorry, Star. I was trying to find the spell book, you know, so you could marry someone you truly love.” Star broke the hug and gave him an angry glare, still with tears in her eyes.

“Why would I want to marry someone else? I have you, and I want to have you for the rest of my life!” She cleaned her tears and nose before proceeding. “Promise me you'll never do that again. You can't just run away like that.”

The surprise on his face was clear, from all the possible routes this conversation could have taken, was it really going down like this? “I'm sorry, Star, for everything. I don't know what I was thinking, but it won't happen again, I promise.” He didn't want to risk the same thing that happened back at the castle, so he tried getting up from bed to escape from the princess trapping him.

“What about Nachos? You drag her to your stupid quest, apologize to her too.” Star stopped him as he tried to push her away.

Looking at Nachos in the eyes, Marco muttered. “Sorry about everything girl.” Nachos looked pleased and Marco tried once again to get up, but once again was stopped by Star. She still looked angry at him and wasn’t bothering to mask it up. “Star, I know what I did was impulsive, but I did it for you. It looked like the best option at the moment, all of your problems would be solved... I'm sorry that I couldn't bring the book back to you.” Star was now looking down, just thinking about his words. “I failed you...” Star shut him up with a kiss on his cheek.

“I don't care about the book, I care about you.” She got herself away from Marco and let him get up. “Marco, I was terrified that you’ll die, I can’t express that enough… I’ll be devastated if I lost you like that.” Marco felt bad for the princess. He could easily imagine the fear she must have felt back there, and it was obvious how much her last words align with his feelings. He tried to reached out and hugged her, but she stopped his arms before they reach her. “I don’t feel like hugging right now.” Yeah, she was still angry at him, and Marco couldn’t blame her.

“It’s ok, besides, I really need to use the toilet.” Standing up, Marco tried taking a few steps by himself, but the numbness on his legs hit him again. He felt down on his knees from the lack of strength. Star ran by his side and helped him up. “Just, help me to the bathroom door, I can do the rest.” She held him up by his side, and Marco managed to enter the bathroom without issues. Star waited by the door, it took a while for the sound of water dropping to stop, and it quickly resumed once more... and again. After some minutes, the toilet was finally flushed down. Marco opened up the door and met with Star. “I thought you would be going back to sleep. Thanks for waiting me out.”

They did the same sequence to go back to bed, with Star holding him up and helping him walk back. They passed Nachos, looking worried at how Marco had issues walking on his own. “Don't worry girl, my mom told me he'll be better in the morning.” Star pat her head before sitting on her bed with Marco.

Both of them lay again on the bed and readied themselves to sleep once more, Marco glance at the clock, it was two thirty in the morning. As Star was tucking them in, he asked her. “So, what's the plan for tomorrow... what day is it anyway?”

Facing him right now, Star answered him. “It should be Friday now. You'll have to apologize to your family for lying to them, then, you'll talk with the girls and Tom. At afternoon, my mom said she would come back, so again, you need to apologize to her.”

Marco thought for a moment, he didn't know if Star had all of this planned already or if she just put it together right now. “I also need to talk with Heckapoo, Nachos need to go back home.” He looked back at Nachos, who was already sleeping once more. “Earth is no place for a dragon cycle.”

The angry look on Star's face took him by surprise. “Then I'll go with you. Now, let's rest up.” She closed her eyes and rolled to her side. Marco just laid facing the roof, some part of him still couldn’t believe this was all real. He soon felt the stress on his body taking over him and he missed no time going back to sleep.

On the other side of the bed, Star felt several emotions running inside her, pushing sleep to the very back of her mind. She heard Marco's snoring after a few minutes, which meant she was clear to face him once more. It took her a few seconds to cuddle with him again. She wanted to do it, but she wasn't ready to forgive him in the open. Also, this made it easier for her to go back to calm down and go back to sleep.

The sunrise came fast, and after a couple more hours, Star awoke full of energy. She decided to give Marco some time to rest so she got up to get ready herself. Marco was woken up by the sound of running water, he sat down by the bedside and woke Nachos up. “Good morning girl, don't worry, we'll have some breakfast soon.”

He decided to wait for Star to get out of the shower, his body felt better right now, it may actually be possible for him to walk by himself now. Star's time on the bathroom was short for Marco, even when she used some of it to changed clothes and fix her hair. Once she got out, Marco was playing with Nachos on the floor. “The shower is empty if you want to hop in.” Marco excused himself to Nachos and hop inside the bathroom to take a shower. 

Just when he passed Star, Marco noticed the flower he gave her. Star was still wearing that flower on her hair and it was still in full bloom. Marco stopped in his tracks to see that flower. Star noticed how speechless he was and spoke up. "I've been wearing it since you gave it to me, you already know that." Her words brought Marco back to reality, he just walked into the bathroom and close the door behind him. Looking at how nervous he was made Star smile a bit.

A long shower and a change of clothes later. Marco walked right back to Star's bedroom only to find it empty. He made his way downstairs, he could already smell breakfast, and inside the kitchen, he saw his parents working there. He took a minute to see them, not making any sound, and they hadn't noticed him standing in the hallway. He felt scared, like being brought back when he was a child and was about to be scolded by his parents, but at the same time, he felt joy at being able to see them again.

Marco shot down his fears and ran towards his father, who was the closest to him and hugged him from behind, saying nothing. His dad span around to meet him. In a fit of happiness, Mr. Diaz hugged him and carry him up. “Marco! So glad you are fine.”

Mrs. Diaz saw this little show of affection and decided to join in, hugging both of them. “We were so worried about you, Marco. Never do that again son.”

“I promise you, I'll never do anything like that again. I'm so sorry about everything.” The whole family stayed there for a few minutes, group hugging and forgetting everything else. It was the smell of the food almost burning that manage to separate them.

It was a quick fix for that meal, and Marco helped to set up the table for breakfast. It was then that he noticed the lack of Star on the table. “Hey, where's Star? And for that manner, where's Nachos?”

Mrs. Diaz thought for a second before answering. “I think she took the dragon cycle out for a walk. But that was some time ago, they must be already on their way back.” Truth to her words, just as they began to serve breakfast, Star walked inside the house with Nachos. She said hello to everyone and they all began to eat. It was a fast breakfast, after that, right after they cleaned up the table and did the dishes. All of them sat down in the living room just to talk about Marco's excursion in Mewni. He told them everything that had happened, hiding a few details and people he met, even how it came to be that Star safe his life.

His parents gave him an abridged version of what they did during the week, but what really caught his attention was their summary of yesterday lunch with Star's parents. They even include the part where Star ask for his hand in marriage, which they thought was adorable, making Star and Marco blush. 

It obviously took Marco by surprise, especially because he still had no idea of Star’s feelings. Star took notice of his confused expression and was ready to confess, but Marco spoke up first. “And, what did you said to that?”

“Of course we accepted, we'll love for Star to be part of our family.” Mr. Diaz was quick on his answer, they really had accepted the idea of their son marrying Star, no matter the complications, damn, it's probably they hadn't considered them, to begin with.

The answer made it difficult for the teenagers to say anything else. Marco grabbed Star's hand, they didn't make eye contact, just sat there holding hands, embarrassed at their words and truly unsure about the future that awaited them. Marco thought about giving it a try one more time. He faced Star and looked at her right in the eyes. Just as he was about to say it, Star's pocket mirror began to ring. She excused herself and got up to answer it while still blushing hard. Leaving Marco alone with his parents.

“So, Marco, had you talked with Star's parents about marrying her?” Marco's dad looked serious at this point.

Marco thought that all of that was already dealt with since last Sunday. “Well, I didn't think it was necessary, given how she picked me...”

Mr. Diaz dismissed his words before speaking. “No, Marco, those are their customs, you need to go and ask for her hand in marriage just like we do here.”

He gave a look to his mom before she said. “That's true Marco, she did it for you, is logical that you should do it too.” Marco looked worried for a moment. “She needs to know that you want to marry her, that's why she asked us. She wanted all of us to know her feelings are real.” Marco could feel his heart beat faster than ever after hearing those words. So, Star did love him? It was so confusing for him after all that happened.

While pondering their words, he saw Star signaling him from the kitchen. “I'll think about what you said.” He walked towards Star to see what she needed.

“Here, talk with Jackie, she wants to know if you're ok.” She handed her mirror at him and walked back to the living room.

Putting the mirror on his ear. “Hey, Jackie, what's up?” He heard nothing for a few seconds before Jackie began to speak.

“Hey, dude, are you alright and all? Star made it sound like you'll be a lot worse last night.” She said it with a bit of fear in her voice.

“Well, I'm still a little stiff on my arms. But I was a lot worse a few hours ago, and but I’m whole of a lot better seeing how I almost died just yesterday.”

“Well, when you put it that way… tell me, did you find what you were looking for?”

“No, but, I think is for the best, I really wasn't thinking straight back then. Sorry if I worried you, Jackie.” He glanced at the living room, just to see if they were still all there. “But, maybe I did find what I was looking for, maybe.”

Confused a bit at his words, she only answered. “No problem then, but you really worried Star to death yesterday. Just... just think everything with more care, before you go at it again.” She started whispering at this moment, not wanting to be heard maybe.

“I know, Star already laid it onto me last night so don't worry... hey Jackie?” He didn't know why this thought crossed his mind. “Do you think... that maybe... well you see, Star told my parents she wanted to marry me.”

Jackie let her voice slip at the sound of that. “Oh Marco, I'm so happy for the two of you!”

He smiled but something was still worrying him. “Thank you, but, I just realize how scary it is. I mean, I don't even know if I'm right for her. I couldn't even help her get the book back, how am I supposed to be useful later in her life.”

“Marco, being there for someone isn't just... crap, Marco, I'm sorry but I gotta go, talk to you later.” Jackie hung up before she could even finish her sentence, leaving Marco with doubts yet unsolved. 

He went back to the living room, but before he could sit down. He began to feel light-headed and stumble down a bit, which was noticed by everyone. “So, what did I missed?”

“I was just telling your parents that our friends will visit us later, I already made the arrangements. But what's wrong with you?” Star helped him sit down.

“I… suddenly felt a bit dizzy, but I think I'll be alright for when the girls get here.” He rubbed his temples, trying to keep the pain to a minimum.

Star tried keeping him standing up. “Marco, you should probably go lay down, maybe you're not as good as you think. Here, I'll help you upstairs.” They both excuse themselves to Marco's parents and made their way upstairs. Marco's headache turned to the worse when he finally arrived at his own bed. He felt nausea and pain to the point of being unable to open his eyes.

“Just lay on the bed while I call mom.” Star left him in his room, she made her way to the magic mirror, hoping her mother would pick up. In just a few rings the call connected.

“Hello, and good afternoon, Star, is Marco alright?”

“He was this morning now he's having a headache on his room, a pretty strong one.” She looked worried, which her mom quickly took notice before speaking.

“Yes, the toxins inside his body should be almost gone by now, but just enough must remain for him to feel like that.” Queen Mom grabbed a small box near her and pulled out her dimensional scissors. “I just finish making the medicine, be there in just a second.”

Truth to her words, she was in Star's room after a few seconds. They both walked to Marco, and Moon pulled out a little flask with dark green liquid. “Tell me, boy, how do you feel?”

“My head is killing me like my brain is growing bigger inside me.” Marco sat up on his bed before rubbing his temples once more. “I was fine till a few minutes ago... also, when I woke up at night my whole body felt rigid, but not anymore.”

“It's a common effect on this kind of poison. Your head hurting is just an aftershock of the toxin in your body, this second dosage of medicine should clean everything up.” She handed him the flask with medicine, he drank it in one go, which took a bit of work to keep it down. “Star, sweetie, bring him some water please.”

As the girl left them alone to go grab a glass of water, Queen Moon needed to talk to Marco about his condition. “It should take effect in a few minutes, you will feel fine afterward.” She pulled another flask with the same medicine and rested on the nightstand. “Just drink this tomorrow at this same hour and that's it for treatment.”

“So, I'll be fine by next week?”

“Yes, but if you start feeling bad again, call me and I'll come running.” She dragged a chair and sat down, waiting for Star to come back. “You should take more care of yourself, especially now that you have a fiancée.”

Remembering what Star had said to him, he responded accordingly. “I'm sorry about that, I was trying to bring the spell book back but the whole thing went out of hand.” He felt embarrassed about the next thing. “And also, I'm sorry for stealing that map from your library... I really can't excuse myself for doing all of that.”

She brushed off like it was nothing. “I understand it, Marco, I just don't approve it. But apology accepted it.” Like a huge weight got drop off his shoulders, Marco felt relieved right now.

“Hey... I got something to ask...” He felt shy just thinking about it. “Did Star truly said she wanted to marry me?” He already knew the answer, but still, he braced for the worst.

“Of course she did. Marco, my daughter worked hard to figure out her feelings for you, and I can tell they are real.” Marco tried to be happy about it but after everything that happened he was having trouble believing her. “Maybe this is something you need to hear from Star herself.” Moon was worried about the two of them, to be honest.

“And… do you really approve… of me?” He already received his answer last Sunday, but after all that happened, he may get a different one.

“You were already chosen by Star herself, that's good enough for me.” This was clearly not the answer he was waiting for, he was expecting something more insightful, and the Queen noticed. “Look, you obviously weren't our… my first choice, but you are a good boy. Yes, you still need a lot to learn, but that's just a question of time. On top of all, you two love each other, there's no way of stopping you when you feel that way.”

This made him smile, a small part of him was telling him not to feel too optimistic, at least until he is sure Star loves him but hearing Queen Moon and his parents so sure about it filled him with hope. “I still can't believe it. I can't believe that I'm going to marry her either.” Moon was moved by his words.

Just then, Star walked inside the room, with Marco's parents following her. “”Sorry about the wait, they wanted to talk with my mom too.” She sat beside Marco and handed him the glass of water. “How do you feel now?”

Marco downed his glass before answering. “Better, but still a bit dizzy, just let me gather my energy before I can get up.” 

They both stayed in bed while their parents talked about whatever. Queen Moon said in the middle of the conversation. “You know, our kids aren't so different, Marco just asked for my daughter's hand in marriage. Ain't that cute?”

The teenagers looked shocked and embarrassed by her words, they could only hide their faces from the other. “And he is going to ask again, he needs to said it to your husband after all.” Star almost yelp at the thought of his dad reaction at being asked that, surely a dreaded image.

They got saved by the doorbell. “Looks like you have visitors. I'll excuse myself, Star, stay in contact in case Marco needs more help.” She said her goodbyes and hugged Star before going back to the castle. The Diaz's also excuse themselves to welcome their guest, leaving the teenagers alone.

Suddenly, a fire portal opened up in the room, and out of it came Tom. “Hello, Earth! And hello to the lovely couple.” He sure was happy to be there.

“Tom!” Star reacted as usual, which now just looked weirder. “Sorry, it's the habit. What's with the unexpected visit?”

“Well, Janna told me to be here at this hour, did she not tell you we were coming to visit?” Just as he said this, the door opened up and in came Starfan with Janna following behind.

The girls quickly jumped at Marco, hugging him while their worries banishing. “You're alive! You got us worried there for a sec safe kid.” Janna was the first to let go, walking over Tom side, she quickly began to look around, like trying to find something. “Where’s Nachos? I wanted Tom to meet her.”

Thinking nothing out of the ordinary. “She is in Star’s room… Actually, she must be feeling rather lonely there. I think we should go keep her company.” Hearing Marco’s request, all the teenagers agree to move to Star’s room.

Just seconds after Marco was able to stand up, a fire portal opened up in front of the exit door. Out came Heckapoo carrying Marco’s red hoodie on her arms neatly folded. “Marco! I’m so happy you’re alright!” She approached Marco and hugged him tightly, totally ignoring the rest of the teenagers in the room.

Starfan and Janna were the ones that began to sweat in fear. They were there when Star lost control the other day, and that was just with implications. Surely seeing her so close to Marco will be even worse. For a second there, Star was ready to blow up but she was able to hold up her emotions and leave them be. Heckapoo was another worried friend, she had the same right as the rest to be there. But maybe, she was driving that hug a bit longer than it should.

“Thanks, Heckapoo. Hey, I have a favor to ask you.” Marco quickly remembered a promise he made but wasn’t ready to disclose that part of his adventure with the rest of his friends. “Can we talk… in private?” Star shot him an angry glare while the rest of their friends left the room. She was the last one to exit the room and only received an apologetic look from Marco.

As soon as the door closed behind Star. Heckapoo slimed at Star's angry face. “Damn, Marco, your girlfriend hates my guts.”

Hearing her words, Marco jumped a little in surprise. “I’m sure she doesn’t hate you… and she isn’t my girlfriend.”

“Ok, your fiancee. Doesn't really matter seeing how you two love each other.” She threw a smile towards Marco, she knew how hurt the boy was over Star’s actions and she was happy that the two were able to arrive to reconciliation.

Her words made Marco blush. “Did… did she told you that?”

She jumped back a bit, maybe they hadn't really talked about it yet. Realizing she talked more than she should. “Don’t worry about it. What did you want to ask me?”

Marco composed himself before talking. “I promised somebody that I’ll get them a pair of scissors in exchange for her help. Care to help me with that?”

Thinking about it for a second. “Why don’t you tell me about this person. I don’t go around making scissors for anyone.” 

Marco began to do just that. Meanwhile, on Star’s room, the princess was fuming while sitting on her bed. Starfan was trying to calm her down while Tom and Janna played with Nachos. “Hey, Janna, I need to some out clean here. Marco did contact me last Monday, he made me promised not to tell anybody.” Tom prepare himself to be scolded by the girl but to his surprise.

“I get it, Tom, you’re no snitch and all. But you did send us over to Heckapoo and thanks to that we were able to find Marco. So don’t worry about it.” Maybe she was getting soft, but he came out clean on his own. That was more than she expected from the demon boy, to begin with.

Tom was happy that this didn’t bring him any more troubles with Janna, the same couldn’t be said about Star though. She was glaring at him with eyes full of fury. It was Starfan that tried to calm her down. “Everyone! What do you think those two are talking about anyway?” Star did look a lot better focusing on Heckapoo anyway.

“Dunno, think she is looking for her ring?” Janna extended her arm towards Starfan, she was wearing the diamond ring that Marco gave to Heckapoo. 

Star’s eyes almost bulged out of her skull at the sight of it. “Where did you get that?!” Star reached out at pulled out the ring from Janna’s finger.

“It was inside of one backpack that Nachos was carrying. Being honest, I think that ring should be yours, Star.”

“Janna, I don’t care about the ring. I care about Marco and what those two are talking about right now.” Star was struggling to contain the urge to eavesdrop on their conversation. “Besides, I don’t want a leftover ring.” She looked at the ring in her hands, she had already seen it before but she never had a chance to really inspect it. In short words, it was beautiful, she had never seen anything like this before in her life. Before she could feel any more down about it, the door to her room opened up and Heckapoo entered her room, followed by Marco.

“Sorry about the wait guys.” Hearing Marco’s voice, Nachos happily ran to their side. “Heckapoo is going to take Nachos back to her dimension, so say goodbye to her.” Marco patted Nachos on the head as a goodbye.

“Noooooooooo.” Janna ran to her side, hugging Nachos tightly.

Marco sighed heavily. “Janna, we can’t have Nachos here on Earth, now let her go!” He tried to separate the two of them to no avail.

Tom was smiling at the sight “Jan, if you let her go without issues I’ll give you a tour of the whole underworld.” The girls weighed her options before finally letting go of the dragon cycle, reluctantly.

With that settled, Heckapoo was ready to go back with Nachos. “Wait!” Star stopped her in her tracks, she was missing one more thing. “Here, this is yours.” Star gave the ring back to its owner. Heckapoo was reluctant to accept it at first. She looked at Marco, which nodded in agreement, she then looked in front of her, directly at Star, the princess just urged her to take it back. Finally, Heckapoo took the ring back. 

"I'll have the scissors ready for next Sunday, don't worry about that." With that last note, he went back to her own dimension with Nachos at hand. 

“What did you talked about back there?” Star missed no time interrogating Marco.

“Oh, I asked her for another pair of scissors.” Getting some confused looks from all around the room, he explained. “I had to make a deal with some magic spirit back in Mewni to find Ludo. The scissors are my end of the bargain.” That answered half pleased, half puzzled Star, but it was enough for her.

“So, man, you feeling alright?” It was Tom that asked first.

“Yes, it was crazy out there, but Star patched me up.” His words made Star feel happy. Indeed, Marco was fine thanks to her efforts, it still didn’t excuse what she did but it was a start.

“Man, you should have seen how worried Star was for you. She really snapped at T…” Janna couldn’t say anything else, Star shut her up with her silence spell.

“She even went full crazy on H…” And Tom was the next one to be shut up. Star couldn’t believe Janna told Tom about what happened back there but she should have expected it.

“I’m glad you’re fine now Marco.” Starfan wasn’t lying but was savvy enough not to say anything else like the others.

All of this left Marco confused, but before he could say anything else, Star’s pocket mirror rang. After reading the message. “Here, Marco, a message from Pony Head.” Marco took the mirror and began to read the message.

“Hey, Marco, sorry about trying to kill you while you were sleeping yesterday." He didn't know that, but thanks for apologizing. "You really worried Star to dead back there man, I just couldn’t forgive that. You don’t play with a girl’s heart that way. Anyway, hope you’re better right now.” A short message and to the point. Apparently even Pony Head was sure of Star’s feelings.

He made sure to apologize to her too. “Sorry about it all Pony Head. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to never worry Star like that anymore.”

“Good.” Was the only response he got back. It didn’t take him long to read and answer that message.

“Hey, what if we buy some snacks and watch a movie downstairs?” Marco had most of his friends right there, he wasn’t about to miss the chance to hang out with them.

“You’re forgetting something.” Star made her way towards the rest of their friends and sat with them. Expecting Marco’s apology.

It didn’t take long for Marco to get what she was talking about. “Yeah, sorry if I worry all of you. Even you Tom, I shouldn’t have asked you to lie to all of them for me.”

Star dispel her blast so they all could answer back. “Don’t worry Marco, I’m glad you’re fine.” Janna spoke up first.

“That’s what’s all about, right? You come back safe.” Starfan followed, accepting his apology.

Only Tom looked reluctant to accept his words. “Sure, Marco, no worries. Hey, let’s go get those snacks!” 

He began to walk out of the room before Marco stopped him. “Actually, I’m gonna have to get them from the store.”

“Well then, let’s go.” Janna began to get up to follow the boys. 

“Actually, Jan, Marco and I can take care of it. You girls get everything ready here.” With that last note, Tom took Marco out of the room, leaving the three girls confused.

“Well, that was weird. What do you want to watch anyway?” Starfan directed the rest of them downstairs to ponder about movies.

The two boys were making their way to the convenience store. “So, are going to tell me why you been acting so strange?” Marco looked worried about Tom, it wasn’t like him to act this way.

Tom was having issues pulling his words together. “Ok, first of all, Janna told me about you and Star. How you got all heartbroken and almost got yourself killed out there because of it.” Yeah, he was worried about his friend and he couldn’t hide it. “You should at least told me what was going on with you when you asked for my help. I could have gone with you and kick ass together.”

Not expecting those words coming from Tom, Marco answered as best as he could. “I shouldn’t have gone out in the first place. You agree to help me and I’m grateful for that, but again, I shouldn’t have put you in that position.”

Tom still wasn’t hearing what he wanted. “Has Star even told you how she feels?”

Annoyed at how everybody else knew about it except himself, apparently. “Was I just that dense at figuring out her feelings or what?”

Taken aback. “Well, Janna told me that Star made a big deal about saying how much she loves you. I was just surprised hearing that Star was having issues figuring out how she felt about you, especially, after she picked you in front of all those people.” Maybe his talks with Janna were bringing out his soft side but he was still as honest as always.

Not wanting to be too optimistic, there was something still troubling him in the back of his mind. “Still, I can’t really take everybody else’s word for it.” More than worried, Marco was fearful of confronting Star again with the topic.

“You’ll never know till you asked her.” With that last note, Tom declared the topic addressed and Marco did the same. It was true that he needed to confront Star about her feelings but it was also true that he was scared to hell about hearing her answer. “Also, I’m glad you’re fine Marco.” He punched the Earth boy in the arm and laughed about it. Marco laughed about it too, brushing the slight pain it caused him, and the two of the proceed to buy the snacks.

This task didn’t take them much time to complete. Once they arrived back on Marco’s home, the girls were fidgeting with the DVD player. “Hey, boys, we were just about ready to play Tom’s DVD.” Star pulled out Tom’s present that she got the night of the Waltz.

“Cool, we just need to prepare everything back in the kitchen.” Marco began to make his way to the kitchen but Tom stopped him in his tracks.

“You already have done enough man. Let me handle that for you.” Tom took the bag of snacks from Marco’s hands.

“I’ll help you, Tom.” Janna got up and walked with Tom towards the kitchen. Both of them looked extra happy as they walked away which made Marco squint his eyes trying to figure those two out.

Brushing it away, he directed himself to the girls by the TV. “Here, let me help you out.”

“We got it, Marco, just relax on the couch.” Star was worried about Marco straining himself while in recovery. She wasn’t alone on that sentiment, the rest of their guests and Marco’s parents felt the same.

Mr. and Mrs. Diaz constantly made rounds to ask if Marco needed anything or how he was feeling. Marco knew better than to get annoyed about it, he gave them a hell of a scare back there, he knew they were worried about him. The two of them left the kids alone to their own get-together, they weren’t doing anything over dangerous.

Soon enough, the snacks were ready and the movie was set. The movie was corny, over the top, and totally awesome, so obviously, they played another one, and then another one. They were having so much fun watching the whole collection that they watched it all in one sitting. None of them were bothered at how late it had gotten by the end of it all.

“Well, that’s it for me. Tomorrow will be a hard day on community service.” Janna got up and began to say her goodbyes.

“And I didn’t tell my parents I’ll be gone all day. I’ll walk with you home Janna.” Starfan did the same, making sure to hug Star goodbye with all her strength. “Good luck to you two.” She waved goodbye to Marco, making the couple blush lightly.

“Why walk when we can use portals?” Tom opened up a portal of his own in the middle of the room. “Guess we’ll be seeing you later. Have fun.” The three of them walked inside the portal, which closed a few seconds after.

Just like that, their friends left them alone in the living room. Marco and Star sat down on the couch, tired of how long this day was dragged, or more like, how long this whole week was dragged. Now the two of them were finally home and able to fully enjoy their vacations from school. No other issue was on the horizon right now.

After both of them let out a heavy sigh, Marco spoke up. “So, I apologize to everybody, are we good now?” He dared not to bring out his biggest doubt right now. He already got a broken heart out of it.

Thinking for a moment, Star decided to cut the guy some slack, he had suffered enough already. “Yeah, and you promise to never do something that stupid again already so we are good…” No, there was something else that needed to be said. “Actually, there’s one more person that needs to apologize for screwing up.” Star sat on the couch facing Marco, looking meekly right now. “Marco…” His heart was beating fast right now, could he really be about to hear that? “Well, I’m sure you already know, everybody must have told you by now. But you need to hear it from me.”

Star took a deep breath, it was obvious how nervous she was right now. “Marco… I love you.” The boy right now was speechless, only able to keep that blank expression. “It’s true, and I’m sorry I didn’t have the courage to tell you last Sunday. Dammit, Marco, it was all my fault that you disappeared like that in the first place. I love you so much yet I was so awful… I’m so sorry Marco…” She covered her eyes as to stopped her tears from coming out.

Marco saw how sad Star was feeling, how much blame she was giving herself for something he did. All of this managed to snap him back into reality. “No! Star, it was all my fault. If I hadn’t gone full angsty teenager mode in the first place…”

Star faced him once more and was ready to argue back at him, she didn’t even let him finish his sentence. “No, don’t start blaming all of this on yourself. You wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t have so much trouble with compromise in the first place!”

The tone of her voice was all that Marco needed to fight back. “Yeah, but…” He just needed the right ground for his argument. “You wouldn’t have had doubts if I hadn’t confessed on the waltz!” He was so sure of his victory in this blame game.

But Star wasn’t about to be left behind. “And the Waltz wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t lost the spell book in the first place.” She was no longer crying and her previous tears were already dry by now.

“And… You… eh…” He was drawing blanks from here. “Maybe we could have skipped all of this if I had been honest about my feelings from the beginning.” These words confused Star. “I don’t know how or when I fell in love with you Star but had I told you beforehand, I wouldn’t have done all of that and you wouldn’t be blaming yourself for my stupid mistakes.” Marco had long left the blaming game behind, right now, he was talking from the heart.

Knowing this was serious talk right now, Star replied. “Still, it doesn’t excuse what I did. Marco, I hurt you and I still can’t forgive myself, but I want you to know how serious I’m about this.” To make her statement even stronger, she grabbed Marco’s hand and held it with her tightly in the middle of her hands. “I love you, and I want us to be together for the rest of our lives.” Marco was about to cut her off, but she didn’t give him the chance. “And, I know how crazy all of this sounds to you but…” This wasn’t the time to be afraid, she needed to show all of her determination. 

Star began to smile at the words that were about to come out of her mouth. “Marco, would you marry me… please?” Star chuckle a bit just after saying those words, and Marco’s surprised expression didn’t help a bit. “I love you and I have never been so sure about something in my life, aside from that night on the waltz.” Star’s hearts marks began to glow a pink light at her confession. It was a combination of happiness and the love she felt right now.

Marco on the other had was nervous at her words, but also happy, so happy in fact that he needed to fight back his tears. Like a dream come true, the girl he loves also loves him in return and she wants to marry him and spend the rest of their lives together. In his confused and happy state, he could only answer. “Star… I… I don’t even have a ring for you.” He scratched the back of his head while his face went full red.

She chuckled a bit before answering back. “I don’t care about a ring Marco! I could do without the whole royal wedding too.” Marco was surprised but it made sense, they would have to marry in front of the royal court, he just never considered that point before. “Hell, I’ll be happy marrying here on Earth, as long as it is with you.” Star wasn’t lying, she wasn’t that much a fan of royal duties, but she loved Earth and was happy having a normal Earth wedding. Dhe has never been in one, to begin with.

“Well… I mean, if you’re happy with me…” He was cut short by Star.

“I am, how many times do I have to tell you?” She was just teasing the boy. It was so funny seeing him nervous like this.

Those words didn’t help Marco’s blush tone down at all. “Then… yes! I love you too Star. I… I just can’t believe how such an amazing girl like you feel in love with a plain boy like me.” Marco then grabbed Star’s hands in response.

“Marco, you’re the amazing one here. You’re such a great person in everything you do and how much you’re willing to go for the people you love.” Star reached out and kissed Marco on the forehead. They both chuckle at that but soon found themselves lost in the eyes of the other. It didn’t take long for them to kiss, not a deep kiss, a quick one on the lips more out of happiness than anything else.

After that kiss, Marco couldn’t contain himself anymore. He began to tear up, he was so happy right now, he even tried to look away from Star to hide all of it, to no avail. “Marco… what’s wrong?” He missed no time and pulled Star closer. He began to kiss her right there. It was the only thing he could do to show how much her feelings meant to him at the moment. Star kissed him back, obviously, and she began to tear up as well. It was just the two of them right now, happy to finally be together not as friends or best friends, but as a couple.

It took them years, from their perspective at least, to break the kiss. As they were satisfied expressing their love, Star was the first one to speak up. “That was amazing Marco, but you should get some rest.” Star got up the couch and fixed her dress.

“Why?” Marco was confused at her choice of words.

“Well, duh…” She turned to meet him face to face. “You need to recover your energy for next week.”

Even more confused right now. “What’s happening next week?”

“Well…” Star took a step back and pulled out her magic wand. In just a little spin and pose, she was able to write on the air. “The Diaz Family Road Trip!” She began to jump up and down afterward. “You need to fully recover so that we can go on the road trip. I have never seen Earth’s oceans before!”

After a quick chuckle from Marco, he stood up and answered back. “I promise to you Star, we will go to that beach. Besides, I feel better than ever already.” The two of them kiss again and finally called it a night. It had been a long day and they just wanted to sleep till tomorrow.

True to his word, Marco made a full recovery that weekend. He made sure to tie up his compromise with the girl in the river and even visited Queen Moon to be sure he was fully recovered. The Queen gave him the all clear to go on vacation and next Monday Marco’s parents and the two teenagers were ready to start the road trip. The stops along the way were few but the real destiny was the beach. Star was marveled at the sight of the ocean and was anxious to play on the beach.

“Star, are you ready?” Marco was waiting for his fiancee outside the changing rooms. She had taken a lot of time just to change into her swimming suit. He turned around as soon as he heard the door open up.

“Grrr!” Star jumped out of the changing room and scared the crap out of Marco. She was looking a lot more fish like right now. With blue-green scaled skin covering her body and a pair of fins growing from the side of her cheeks. Even her hair had changed to crimson red.

To say Marco was startled will be an understatement. “Star! What the hell!”

Laughing hard at her fiancé reaction, Star took off Marco’s mask, the one he used the night of the Waltz. “Surprised? Tom dropped it off last Sunday while you were with my mom.” Marco looked so annoyed at her little prank, but he still had to laugh about it.

“Don’t think you can get a tan with one of those on. Take it off and let’s go play in the sand.” He reached out to grab the mask and was quickly captured by Star’s looks. She was so beautiful and that swimsuit plus the pink flower on her hair added extra beauty to her.

As Star began to look away shyly there was one sentence that crossed her mind. “I love you.” They both said in unison, which surprised them to no end but also made them chuckle. “Well, I love you more.” Again, they spoke up at the same time, making them laugh. “You’re the best!” After both of them said that they kissed and made their way to the beach. All in all, it was a nice beach day. They spent it together with Marco’s parents like a big happy family.

He was a safe boy from Earth, less than a year ago he was contempt following his normal, planned, life. Till he met Star, and his whole world brightened up. Since she entered his life, he broke out of that persona, was able to travel all over the multi-universe, and found the love of his life. She expanded his horizons and pushed him to be a better person every day while still appreciating everything that made him Marco Diaz

She was a rebel princess, heir to the throne of Mewni, but having Marco on her life gave it a whole new meaning. It wasn’t about stability nor a sense of security, but the happiness of being able to face the world with the full support of the one she loves the most in her life. The one person that means everything to her. She was sure that Marco would always push her to be a better person, while still loving every aspect that makes her Star Butterfly.

Maybe they were too young for real love, but no one can go against matters of the heart, not even these two. They were happy having each other and no one can take that happiness away from them. They went through hell and back just to be able to enjoy these moments together and will do everything to protect them.

Marco Diaz and Star Butterfly are in love. This love will never wither nor will they ever get bored of it. It will only grow stronger with each passing day. Just six or so more years till the Royal Wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my mind, Starcrushed still happened, just with these two in a relationship. But I promised a happy ending so I couldn't just pull the rug from under your feets like this. Thanks for reading all of my fanfic. Hope you all enjoy it or at least weren't that annoyed at it. Now I can finally move on to new projects.


End file.
